Fighting Chance
by RaiLei
Summary: Yuffentine. Yuffie disappeared three years ago with a text message for help, but, one night she appears at Vincent's home asking for his help...
1. 01: Running

_Looking back at the beginning of this  
And how life was  
Just you and me and love and all of our friends  
Living life like an ocean  
Now the currents slowly pulling me down  
It's getting harder to breath  
It won't be too long and I'll be going under  
Can you save me from this_

_It's Not My Time - 3 Doors Down_

---

Yuffie sighed, her storm grey eyes staring blankly at the dark churning water beneath her. She should have been feeling seasick like always, but she didn't – no, maybe she _couldn't_ – feel things anymore. She didn't want too; she had tried to force all her feelings away from her, ultimately pushing her friends away as well. Not that the last one was by choice, she blamed her father for that one.

"Stupid old man," she grumbled, leaning against the railing, the coolness seeping through her thin coat. "I could just _hate_ you . . ."

It had all started after the Omega and Chaos incident in Midgar – her father had seen her on the six o'clock news network from Junon, with Reeve and Vincent on either side of her discussing what had happened. Well, they sort of explained, there were some things people didn't need to know about. When she had returned to Wutai, her father summoned her to the Pagoda – that was _never_ a good sign. Lord Godo, with the help of Chekov, berated her for spending so much time with males so publicly. She wasn't a proper Wutai woman; she was loud, outspoken and _wild_ . . . the proper Wutai woman only spoke when spoken too, doted on her husband and _never_ acted out of term.

Yuffie rolled her eyes at the memory . . . as if!

_Yuffie wandered onto the fifth floor of the Pagoda, warily looking at her father and the Council that sat around him. Making eye contact with them, she inwardly smirked – she had no plans of **ever** becoming the proper woman they desired. "You called for me, father?" she said, stopping in the middle of the room._

_Her father nodded, indicating to the chair in the middle of the room. "Please sit, we have some things to discuss."_

_Yuffie slowly walked over to the chair, dropping herself unceremoniously into it. "Make this quick, alright? Tifa's calling me this afternoon – Vincent's birthday is in a couple weeks."_

_She let out a laugh as she said that; Tifa had told her that is was supposed to be a surprise. She hadn't told Vincent, and wasn't planning to tell the gunslinger either – if he knew, he probably wouldn't be in Nibelheim when they showed up. Yuffie rolled her eyes; that was their gunslinger. _

_She couldn't **wait **to see him though . . ._

"_Yuffie?"_

"_Huh?" She totally wasn't listening._

"_You're too be married; we'll make you a proper woman."_

_Married? She thought. Her mind on a totally different page, she shook her head, holding back a laugh. "I doubt he'd agree to that."_

"_He already has."_

_Yuffie paused, an eyebrow raised. ". . . are we talking about the same person?"_

_Chekov shook his head, placing his hand on Godo's shoulder, the older man tensing. "Miss. Kisaragi, you know you must marry in order to take control of Wutai. As a woman, you're unable to run –"_

"_Excuse me?" Yuffie glared, forcing herself to remain sitting and failing. "I refuse to be a figure head so some guy can get our throne."_

"_It doesn't really matter what you will or will not do," Chekov sighed. "You must learn your place in the company of men and you __**will**__ marry and you will become the proper woman."_

"_I'll never be anyone but myself," Yuffie commented idly. "If you wanted me to be the proper woman, perhaps you shouldn't have sent me out to hunt for materia – gawd!"_

"_That was a mistake on our part," Godo said, standing up. "As of today you will not be leaving Wutai without an escort –"_

"_What about Vincent's surprise party?" Like hell she wasn't going. "We've been through so much!"_

_Godo waved the comment aside. "Spending time with males so publicly – you know Leviathan wouldn't approve of this."_

"_He's my friend," she cut in with a glare._

"_As a Wutai woman, and a Princess at that, spending time with another male gives off a bad impression." Yuffie didn't respond, but raised an eyebrow at her father's words. "Seeing you on television with multiple men has brought lots of rumors about you, you're thought of not to be pure making your suitors turn away one by one."_

"_You think I had sex with Vincent?" Yuffie blinked and then let out a gasp, her hand flying to her mouth – had she just said that?_

_Godo glared at his daughter, quickly standing up, shaking off Chekov. Yuffie glanced blankly at her father as he left the Council, the members following along behind him, approaching her. Yuffie rolled her eyes as she stood up, a hand on her hip as Godo stopped before her. "No daughter of mine will talk so nonchalant about her sex life – you have a long way to go before you're a proper woman –"_

"_Maybe I don't want to be!" Yuffie yelled, her hands balling up into fists. _

_Yuffie's eyes widened as her father roughly slapped her. "It's time you grew up and took your place, Yuffie."_

_Yuffie glared at him, fighting back the urge to bring a hand to her cheek – she wasn't going to show him weakness. Underneath his dark stare, Yuffie fidgeted, her storm grey eyes eventually falling to the floor. "What do you want me to do?"_

"_You are going to be married to Lord Chekov here; he will make you into the proper woman."_

_Yuffie blinked, looking around her father to Chekov. Inwardly she suppressed a shudder as she looked at the man approaching Godo and herself, his dark eyes piercing her like another certain male always did, and his dark hair short and he seemed to walk with a grace – something she didn't possess. _

"_Thank you for her hand, my lord," Chekov said, his eyes moving from Yuffie's to Godo's and back again. "I will take good care of her."_

_Yuffie suppressed another shudder, but placed a fake smile on her features. "I'm still going to Vincent's party on the weekend."_

"_No wife of mine will be partying – especially with another male."_

_Yuffie glared at him, sticking her tongue out. "I didn't remember asking you."_

_Yuffie let out as gasp as Chekov pushed past Godo, roughly grabbing Yuffie's arm and dragging her close to him. "You will listen to me, Miss. Kisaragi, or else. As of today, your friends – especially all those men – you will slowly push them away."_

_Yuffie pushed back against his words, her hands trying to push him away. "Why should I listen to you? You don't care – you _never _cared before now!"_

_Yuffie tried – and failed – to hold back a cry as Chekov hit hard across the cheek. She stumbled as Chekov let go of her, her hands quickly moving to her face as she glared heatedly at Chekov. "Bastard; if you ever –"_

"_Such language," Chekov shook his head as he tightly grabbed Yuffie's upper arm, making the younger girl wince. "I suppose we'll have to work on that too . . . don't worry Lord Godo, Yuffie will be the proper woman in no time at all."_

_Yuffie fought back another shiver at Chekov's words and the look he gave her . . . she didn't like it. _

_Where was Vincent when she needed him? Wait, did she just think that?_

"Final stop: Nibelheim port. We'll be arriving in ten minutes, please pack your belongings and prepare to make port."

Yuffie frowned, looking over her shoulder at the speaker box. She closed her storm grey eyes as she rested her head on her folded arms, she didn't have any belongings, not really. Rubbing a gloved hand under her eyes, Yuffie leaned down to pick up the small backpack resting at her feet. She frowned as she picked it up, strapping it onto her back.

"How pathetic am I?" she mumbled to herself, the pack light on her back. "Twenty-two and I can fit all my things in a bag."

She shook her head, pulling her worn and thin coat closer to her smaller frame – not that it did any good to ward off the cold night. Her footsteps echoed against the metal flooring beneath her, feeling out of place as she walked across the deck, her storm grey eyes watching the people around her and those coming out of the small rooms the ship offered. She watched the people laugh, joke and horseplay before her – how she wished she could do that again, it had been so long . . .

_Three years_, she thought with a frown. _I wonder if he still lives here?_

She allowed a ghost of a smile to appear across her features as she saw the once small town. The town had grown slightly, a handful of lights still burning in the middle of the night. She sighed; Vincent probably wasn't living there anymore. He was never one for crowds . . . and if Nibelheim had gotten slightly busier, he'd have gone . . . Yuffie frowned. She didn't know, she didn't know anything – she'd been cut off for the past three years.

_Yuffie perked up as she heard a knock on the door downstairs. She inwardly grinned; Tifa had gotten her text message. She had sent the bartender a text message last night, asking for help and where she was. _

"_Tifa . . ."_

_Yuffie grinned brightly – she hadn't done that for weeks, it felt weird. She pushed herself up from the bed, the white covers falling away from her body. She bit down on her lip as she brought the covers back up to cover her body and the marks that adorned her once white skin. Securing the sheet around her tiny frame, she shivered as her bare feet hit the hardwood flooring. A hand on the wall for support, Yuffie made her way towards the door, slowly opening it. As she moved into the hallway, her storm grey eyes trained on the stairwell, she could hear Chekov open the door._

"_What do you want?" she heard him say coldly. _

_Whoever was at the door wasn't that easily distracted. "Where's Yuffie?"_

_Yuffie's heart leapt, it was Tifa. _

"_Yuffie?" Yuffie grit her teeth at the well played confusion in Chekov's voice. "She'd be in Pagoda if she's even in Wutai."_

_Creeping closer to the stairwell, Yuffie reached a hand out for the railing before pausing. Her eyes widening, her body temperature rising, she cast a look down, cursing herself. The floor had creaked beneath her and everything had gone silent downstairs. Her mind called out for Tifa, too frozen to actually call for the bartender. _

"_What was that?" Nothing ever escaped Tifa's ears._

"_That was my wife," Chekov said nonchalant with a shrug. "She's been feeling under the weather; I've been taking care of her."_

_Yuffie rolled her eyes. Sure he was taking care of her . . . she couldn't leave the house without his permission (which was never) and his harsh ways of treating her – like she was nothing but dirt . . ._

"_I see," Yuffie could hear the doubt in Tifa's voice. "When you see Yuffie . . . you let her know we were here, we'll be in town for a couple days."_

_We? Yuffie's mind shouted. Who was she with – was everyone here?_

"_The Pagoda is your best bet," came Chekov's final response, the door closing. _

_Yuffie sighed; she was going to get in trouble again. She leaned back against the wall, slipping down against the wall, resting her head on her knees. She was a fool sending Tifa that text message. She heard Chekov locking the door up downstairs – she shuddered, she dreaded him coming upstairs – when she heard Tifa's voice from the open window above her head. _

"_She has to be here somewhere . . . you saw that message, she's in __**trouble**__, Vincent."_

_Vincent was here? Her heart beat picked up, he was worried about her. Or, did he just come because Tifa asked, demanded, he came too? _

"_Miss. Kisaragi . . ."_

_Yuffie flinched, pressing her back against the wall as Chekov's voice drifted upstairs, anger in his tone. She sucked in a breath as she retreated back into her mind – she didn't want to get hurt again. Yuffie looked blankly back at Chekov as he came loudly upstairs, stopping before her. She didn't look at him – she didn't want too._

"_Where is it?" She knew what he wanted, but remained silent. "Where is your damn cell phone?"_

"_Hidden . . . it's mine."_

_She let out a cry as Chekov roughly grabbed her arm, dragging her small frame up off the floor. She winced as he tightened his grip, her arm feeling numb. She tried to pry his fingers back, but that only made him grip her tighter. "You belong to me, Kisaragi," he whispered in her ear, making chills go up her spine. "Whatever belonged to you is now mine as well. If you give me that cell phone, I won't be as rough on you."_

_Yuffie stared at the floor beneath them – he wanted her last lifeline . . . _

"_It's . . . in our room . . . safely hidden," she whispered, running a hand beneath her eyes. _

_She let out a gasp as Chekov let go of her arm, dropping her unceremoniously to the ground. "You're such a good wife . . . the proper woman."_

_Yuffie held her head high, trying to blink the tears away that threatened to fall as she made her way towards Chekov's room. She held the sheet close to her body as she walked, aware that Chekov's eyes stayed on the sheet's hem and the way his hands had lingered on her bare shoulders._

_It was going to be one of those nights . . ._

Lost in her thoughts, Yuffie jumped, letting out a stifled scream as a hand clamped down on her shoulder. Her storm grey eyes widened as she whirled around, her hands falling away from her thin coat; the coat fluttering open as the zipper had been broken a while ago.

"W – What do you want?"

As she looked closer, she noticed that it was only one of the sailors that worked on the ship. She tried to smile at him, something she hadn't done in ages, as he looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Are you okay Miss?"

Yuffie nodded slowly, her body relaxing as she sighed. "I'm fine . . ."

She smiled at him as he ushered her towards the ramp onto the harbor docks. Yuffie frowned as she saw the many people milling around – no one would be waiting for her. She doubted they _ever_ wanted to see her again – probably thought she was dead – she hadn't been seen for the past three years. She shook her head to the sailor as he asked her if anyone was waiting for her arrival. She was aware of his eyes looking worriedly after her as she left the ship, disappearing into the crowd.

"I hope Vince's here," she mumbled to herself, heading into the once small town.

Her footsteps sounded against the cobbled street as she dodged people here and there. She was aware of the looks that they threw her when they thought she wasn't looking. Yuffie didn't care as she sat down on the rim of the now working fountain in the middle of the town – or was it a city now? She knew people would look down on her appearance, who wouldn't?

She hadn't seen the sun for the majority of the past three years so her once tanned skin looked white in a sick sort of way she thought. Her short black hair had grown out to the middle of her back and she had tied it back into a ponytail hurriedly as she ran to catch the ship before it left the Wutai harbor. She twirled one of the loose strands around her gloved finger, maybe she should cut it again . . . she _**never**_ had liked the longer hair; she'd only done it so Chekov would leave her alone. The clothes she wore seemed to draw even more attention to her; in a town that hardly ever slept to see a young girl like that wandering around town in a worn out pair of pajamas, an old, worn and broken coat sizes to big covering her shivering body.

Yuffie sighed, ignoring the looks and whispered words she heard about herself from the people passing her by – she had expected it. They thought of her of a whore, someone just looking for a good time; _why else would she be in pajamas _they whispered.

Her bag sitting beside her, Yuffie unzipped the small bag, her gloved hands sifting through the things she had managed to hide throughout the year. A couple kunai sat in the bottom of her bag, a couple pieces of her favorite clothing and her cherished mementos filling the rest of the bag. She smiled when she found the small porcelain container she had gotten for her nineteen birthday – Vincent had given it to her – and delicately pulled the top off, a worn, folded picture inside it.

She smiled as she unfolded the picture. "I wish we could go back to that day," she mumbled, running a finger over the photo.

It was taken just after everything had ended in Midgar and before she had gone back to Wutai. Everyone from AVALANCE was in the photo, even Shelke was in it. Of course the Tsviet hadn't wanted her photo taken, but had been dragged in by Reeve, somehow Yuffie didn't think the brunette minded, a small smile on her face. Tifa and Cloud had their hands intertwined, Cid and Barret each had a cup of something in their hands, Cait was on Red's head and she noticed herself flashing a peace sign to the camera, Vincent behind her. She hadn't noticed it at first, but the more she looked at it, she noticed that the gunslinger had been looking at her.

She always wondered what that meant . . . what _would_ have happened had she **not **gone back to Wutai.

Slowly, she folded the picture back up and placing it in the container, stowed it carefully back into her small bag. She wished she still had the bracelet, Vincent had bought her a bracelet the colour of Leviathan, and it was _so_ pretty. But, when Chekov found it, he threw it out much to her tantrum.

"She's almost as strange as he is, do you think _he_ summoned her?"

"Really? Do you think he'd want _her_?"

Yuffie's head snapped up. She knew they were talking about her, but . . . who was _he_? She forced back the wish, the hope that they were talking about Vincent; she just couldn't see him hanging out and partying with the locals. She smiled slightly, that wasn't _her_ gunslinger. Quickly, Yuffie picked up her small bag, making her way towards the two girls – they couldn't have been any older then she was.

"Excuse me."

The girl's paused, looking back at the dark haired woman in pajamas. They fidgeted as Yuffie came to a stop before them; obviously they'd hoped she wasn't talking to them.

"What do you want? We're in a hurry."

Yuffie looked their clothes; they had to have been expensive. No doubt, they believed she was beneath them; not that she blamed them, she _was_ beneath everyone. "I heard you talking about a man. I actually came here looking for someone, but I don't know if he still lives here . . ."

The girl's let out a laugh. "I _told_ you she was here for him."

The second one nodded. "I suppose so," Yuffie noticed her nose curl up as she shot Yuffie a look. "That Manor at the top of town – the guy never leaves it. I can see why, he just _calls_ people like you. See he is social – why don't you go see him?" The second one said to her companion, wiggling her eyebrows.

Yuffie rolled her eyes, leaving the two giggling girls behind her. If it was Vincent – he wouldn't want their company, especially not in the way they thought. She couldn't see Vincent having a one night stand with anyone, not after his past, especially not with airhead girls like that.

"Will you remember me, Vincent?" she asked herself as she made her way out of the bright city, her storm grey eyes locked on the looming manor.

She noticed that the closer she got to the old ShinRa Manor, the darker the city became, drawing Yuffie's attention that the houses didn't stretch out this way. The streetlights were mostly off as well, the odd light flickering ominously. Yuffie didn't pay the streetlights any attention, she seemed to like the darkness better, and she was used to it.

Reaching the Manor, Yuffie paused outside the iron gates that surrounded the property. She bit down on her lip, her fingers curled around the bars of the gate. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest as she pushed against the gate, the metal swinging open quietly. Storm grey eyes looked across the property, from what she could see, it looked immaculate. The grass seemed cut, and there was a stone path leading up the old Manor. The Manor didn't look as horrible as it did years ago, the windows and door had been replaced, the sidings had been redone and a porch had been added onto the front.

Taking a deep breath, Yuffie moved forward, stepping onto the property. She could hear the Iron Gate close behind her, wincing as the Iron Gate clanged loudly as it collided in the slight breeze. She felt her heart stop as a light turned on in the old Manor, and if her memory served her correctly, it was the living room.

"It's just Vincent, it's just Vincent," she chanted to herself, forcing herself to continue up the stone pathway. "It's just . . ."

She froze, halfway up the stone pathway as the heavy front door opened, a silhouette in the doorway. "Who's there?"

Yuffie's voice caught in her throat – she'd know that silhouette anywhere. Although his dark red cloak wasn't on him, she could tell. The silhouette was tall, dark hair fell across him, and from the bulge on his hip which no doubt held his Death Penalty and what looked like a glint of light off his one hand, she knew.

"Vincent."

It was only a whisper, but she knew he would be able to hear her through the wind and the music and yelling from the city below the Manor. Her storm grey eyes locked on the silhouette, making her way slowly up the stone path. She watched the silhouette, pausing as she noticed his hand moving to the holster on his hip.

"Whatever you want, go away. I doubt I'm interested."

Yuffie shook her head, dropping her small bag onto the ground. She felt her body go numb as she moved closer, shaking her head as Vincent's silhouette move to close the front door. "Vincent . . . don't; I need your help."

She saw Vincent pause; she wished she could see his face. Being this far away from him, she had no idea how much she had really missed him.

Vincent paused, his hand on the doorknob. That voice – it sounded so much like Yuffie. He shook his head; he couldn't allow himself to believe that was Yuffie. The hyperactive ninja had disappeared three years ago much to his grief, after all these years . . . he had finally convinced himself Yuffie had died. After that text message she had sent Tifa asking for help, saying she was in big trouble, no one had heard from her. Her phone was disabled, saying that the number was no longer in service. They never located her in Wutai and nobody really knew where she was. Chekov, Godo's second in command, had taken control of Wutai – something Yuffie _**never**_ would have allowed if she was still alive.

But that voice . . . it _sounded_ just like her – but like a broken woman at the same time.

He closed his crimson eyes momentarily, his grip tight on the doorknob. "Yuffie . . ." He had never mentioned it to anyone, but he _missed_ the younger ninja.

"Yes . . . Vincent, I . . . I _**need**_ your help."

Vincent opened his crimson eyes, pausing as the younger girl appeared in the dim light from his hallway. Her hair was longer; she was thinner and paler then him and was dressed in pajamas a coat that clearly couldn't have been hers. His mind went blank as the girl stood there, biting down on her lip as she ran a hand up her other arm – all ticks that Yuffie did when she was nervous about something. Vincent shook his head . . . she was _supposed_ to be dead . . .

"Yuffie . . ."

He watched as Yuffie glanced briefly at him before returning her eyes back to the grass. He didn't know what to say as he saw the traces of unshed tears in her eyes as she briefly locked eyes with him. She seemed so different . . . not like the hyper teenager she had been; she would have just run up and pushed him aside before flopping onto his couch, telling him she was staying the night. Yuffie . . . she seemed like she didn't even want to come near him, like she was _**afraid**_ . . .

"Where have you been?" he eventually asked, breaking the silence.

Yuffie didn't say anything, she didn't move. Yuffie wanted to say something, to run and hug the gunslinger she'd thought about for the past three years, but etiquette made her stop. _He _**wasn't** hers . . . she was _taken_. She shook her head, feeling the tears come to her eyes as she thought that. She let out a sigh as she brought her gloved hands to her eyes, running them underneath. Distantly, Yuffie heard the sounds of Vincent's crunching steps underneath the grass, her body freezing as she felt Vincent's hands rest on her shoulders, pulling her to him.

"Are you okay, what happened?" Slowly, Yuffie brought her hands up; grabbing a fistful of Vincent's dark shirt as he tentatively brought the confused girl closer to him. "Come on, let's get you inside."

Yuffie shook her head, pulling away from Vincent, her grip falling from his shirt. "I can't . . . I shouldn't be here . . . I have to go, I'm sorry."

Vincent shook his head as Yuffie turned away from him, heading away from him. Vincent shook his head, reaching out for Yuffie, gripping her arm. He blinked as Yuffie let out a scream as he stopped her, he quickly let her go. Vincent watched as Yuffie brought her arms close to her body, dropping herself to the ground, drawing her knees up. Vincent raised an eyebrow at her actions, before kneeling down beside her.

"You're not going anywhere tonight Yuffie, you need some sleep."

Yuffie shook her head. "I can't . . . he'll wake up and I won't be there."

Vincent shook his head, picking Yuffie up effortlessly. He frowned, Yuffie seemed lighter then she had been the last time he'd seen her. Yuffie shook her head, trying to protest, demanding to be put down, but it was wasted on Vincent. He easily carried her into his house, closing the door with his foot. He sighed as Yuffie shifted in his arms, her storm grey eyes closing.

"I _knew_ you'd come for me, Vincent."

Vincent sighed, a frown marring his features at Yuffie's mumbled words as he started up the curved stairwell. What had happened to their cheerful and energetic ninja?

---

_Tonight, out on the street, out in the moonlight  
And dammit this feels too right, it's just like deja vu  
Me standing here with you  
So I'll be holding my own breath, could this be the end  
Is it that moment when, I find the one that I'll spend forever with_

_Gotta Be Somebody -- Nickelback_

---

A/N: I know the first chapters strange and jumps around a little bit, but it will all be explained. You might even be able to guess what happened to Yuffie in Wutai. But, since Fly into the Night's finally finished, I've been itching to start another long (but not *that* long) story.

R&R

A/N2: Slight change, as I have decided to weave some of the Almost-Finalized Soundtrack into the storyline. I felt that these two songs were the best way to describe what is going on in the story. The first song by 3 Doors Down has, by this point (Nov. 2008) has been chosen as the theme song for the whole story line regarding what is going on with Yuffie. I won't elaborate on that, you'll have to find that out yourselves. As for the Nickelback song, it just seemed to fit with her ending up on Vincent's doorstep, in real need of his help. Yet again, can't go into great detail about _why_ it was chosen.


	2. 02: Denial

Vincent sighed, placing Yuffie down on the made bed. The dark haired girl sighed as she felt the mattress beneath her. As Vincent reached for the cover and blanket resting at the foot of the bed, Yuffie pulled the pillow closer to her, drawing her feet up to her body.

"You'll be alright now," he said, dropping the cover over her small frame, adding the heavy cover over top her.

Yuffie shifted underneath the heavy blankets, drawing her eyebrows together, her mouth silently opening.

Vincent closed his crimson eyes, shaking his head. What _had_ happened to her, he was curious. That wasn't like the Yuffie they all knew; whenever she showed up she was loud, outgoing and energetic – tonight, she seemed quiet and deflated. She had disappeared three years ago and for her to suddenly reappear, it made his wonder what she had been up to.

"Night Yuffie," he glanced down at the ninja, fighting down the urge to brush her long black hair out of her face.

Closing the drapes on the window, he sighed making his way across the carpeted floor to the door. Pulling the door behind him, he cast a glance back at the still girl in the bed, before quietly closing the door behind him. As the door closed, encasing the room in darkness, Yuffie gripped the covers around her tightly, mumbling something that sounded like _Vincent . . ._ before turning over.

Making his way down the hallway, his footsteps muffled because of the carpet beneath his. Pushing his bedroom door open – which was almost opposite Yuffie's – he ignored the light switches, knowing his way around the Manor, he made his way to his closet, opening the door. His mind on Yuffie, he didn't pay attention to what he was doing, mechanically changing his clothes for a pair of boxers. Pulling back the bed covers, he sighed as he leaned against the headboard. Running a hand over his face, he glanced over at the clock.

Two fifteen am, the red numbers said.

When he had heard the crash of the gate surrounding the old Manor closing, he figured it was just another practical joke from (most likely) another drunken person from the _still_ awake town. He had rolled his eyes, he knew about some of the rumors that surrounded his habits – it was most likely another girl.

But, when he who it was, that it was _**her**_ . . .

After a three year absence, Yuffie stood before him, looking worse for the wear. Since the Omega Incident, she had changed greatly, and it wasn't just her looks. Her whole mannerism had changed; she wasn't _their_ Yuffie; she was . . . silent and confused, was that it? Or was it lost? She had hardly looked at him, something he didn't like. Yuffie was always up close and in your face, but . . . she had stayed far enough away so only the dimmest amount of light could fall on her.

"_I can't . . . I shouldn't be here . . . I have to go, I'm sorry."_

"_You're not going anywhere tonight Yuffie, you need some sleep."_

_Yuffie shook her head. "I can't . . . he'll wake up and I won't be there."_

What did she mean by that? _He'll wake up and I won't be there_, he repeated that over and over in his mind. He didn't want to think about that, he didn't want to believe that Yuffie was _still_ in the trouble she text messaged Tifa about _and_ that it had taken her all these years to escape . . .

"What happened to you?"

Yuffie had felt so cold when he had stopped her from leaving, her coat and pajamas not giving the girl any warmth. He shook his head; whatever Yuffie had escaped from . . . it _must_ have been bad for her to brave the middle of December without the proper clothing. And that coat of hers – he knew it wasn't hers, which made him wonder who it belonged too.

He shook his head, Yuffie had always been the odd one in their ragtag group . . . but this time, he was determined to find out _what_ happened.

---

Yuffie rolled over in the bed, burying her head deep into the pillow beneath her. She groaned as she brought her eyebrows together, why was her room this bright? As far as she remembered, their room didn't face the sunrise. She moaned, it was too early to think about this! Reaching for her covers, she brought them over her head, not wanting to leave her bed . . .

Wait a second, _her_ bed? That couldn't be possible.

"The Living Room? She mumbled sleepily.

It could be possible after what had happened the night previous. Yuffie sighed, trying to bury herself deeper into the mattress. She paused, an eyebrow raised as she slowly opened her storm grey eyes. How was she in a bed . . . it seemed very unlike Chekov to do something like that for her.

"How . . .?"

Yuffie frowned, pushing herself up onto her knees, the sheets falling down from her head to rest behind her. Running a hand underneath her eyes, she blinked before looking around the room. An eyebrow raised as she took in her surroundings – this didn't look like their room at all. Her body temperature fell slightly, had she been traded for the night? She rolled her eyes, it wouldn't have surprised her.

The room didn't give her much of a clue as to where she was. The walls were a dull white colour, with a darker blue set of curtains covering the windows. There wasn't a lot of the furniture in the room, an old (and a bit dusty) dresser sat in the corner with some picture frames covering the top. A chair sat in the corner, a bunch of folded clothes sitting neatly on top of it – were they for her? She shook her head; the room was pretty drab in her opinion. Nodding to herself, she glanced down, glad to notice that she was still wearing her faded Chocobo yellow pajamas, her coat missing.

_At least I'm still dressed_, she thought idly. So she didn't have – or did she? She really didn't remember.

"I can't stay here," she mumbled to herself, Chekov wouldn't be impressed when he woke up without her. "Wherever _here_ is . . ."

Pushing the covers off her bare feet – where were her shoes? – she shuffled out of the bed, shivering as her feet hit the cold hardwood floor beneath her. She cast her storm grey eyes back to the bed, she _should_ make it. She sighed, turning back to the bed, pulling the covers up, quickly fluffed up the pillow and pulled the comforter up to the headboard. It wouldn't have surprised her if Chekov had done this to test her ways . . . she rolled her eyes at the thought.

Nodding at the quickly made bed, Yuffie sighed, she had to get out of here. She started slowly towards the door; she didn't want the floor to creak underneath her weight. Halfway to the door, she caught sight of the dresser top from the corner of her eye. Although she knew she shouldn't look around the strange room, she couldn't fight down her curiosity to look. Slowly, her arms crossed tightly in front of her chest, she made her way over to the dresser, her breath catching as she saw the photos.

She was in them as were all her _friends_.

There was a photo from the Golden Saucer during the time of AVALANCE when the lift had broken down. It must have been just before Cloud found the Keystone and Cait stole it. She smiled slightly – that was something the _ninja_ should have done. They were all standing in the lobby, looking like all sorts of shabby having just escaped from Rocket Town on Cid's old plane. The second was a copy of the one in her bag; just after the Omega Incident.

There was no way she was . . . that was a _**dream**_. Maybe, yes maybe, she was still dreaming.

Moving past the photos, she paused as she saw the third one. Before her actions could catch up with her mind, she had unraveled her hands from before her, picking up the silver photo frame. Out of all the photos, it was the least colourful and had the least amount of people in it. It was taken in front of the Nibelheim Manor and three people stood in the photo frame. The two people in front were both in lab coats, the brunette female smiling and waving at the camera, the male behind her looking away from the camera, a hauntingly look on his face. She might not have seen them in a long time, but she knew them right away – it was Hojo and Lucrecia. That would mean that the suited man behind them with the short dark hair was –

"_Vincent _. . ."

Her body ran cold. Vincent . . . Vincent Valentine?

Yuffie shook her head, this wasn't real. Smiling sarcastically, she tried to pinch herself, jumping when it hurt. Rubbing her pinched arm, she moved away from the photos in a daze, the photo frame still in her hands. Reaching the closed door, she fumbled with the photo frame – inwardly cursing herself for still holding it – muttering angrily to herself as the photo frame fell to the ground. She took an intake of breath as it fell to the ground, the glass breaking as it connected roughly with the hardwood floor.

"No . . ." she moaned, biting down on her lip, aware of the sudden wave of pain, a red line appearing across her pale skin, widening by the moment.

She had to laugh to herself, how like her to be that careless. Chekov _always_ told her she was careless . . . but that was just because she was a woman. She could just _hate_ him. Sighing, she leaned down picking up the old frame, running her hand across the cool metal. Lucrecia was in the photo . . . Vincent wasn't going to be happy when he realized what she did. She glanced at the small shards of glass littering the floor, carefully stepping over them.

Yuffie made her way down the carpeted hallway, her footsteps silent. She _knew_ this was the Nibelheim Manor, if there was one home she would know anywhere . . . this _would_ be it. "It can't be," she mumbled to herself. "There's no way I'm here."

Making her way down the hallway, the curved stairwell before her, she paused. It was all coming back to her.

_She hadn't wanted to go into the old Manor that was supposed to have made Sephiroth go insane. She didn't want to see the decrypted building – who even **knew** if what Cloud said was even true. Hadn't Cloud said Nibelheim had burned down? The town had looked fine to her. Was Cloud lying to them? But that message . . ._

_I must get rid of all those that stand in the way on my research. Even that one from the Turks; I scientifically altered him, and put him to sleep in the basement. If you want to find him, then search the area. But, this is merely a game I thought of. It is not necessary for you to participate if you don't want too._

_Instantly, she wanted to find out what was going on – even though she hated everything regarding ShinRa. How on earth did she know she was going to find **him**? When they opened up that coffin . . . first, he had totally scared the daylights out of her but slowly he started to grow on her. _

_When she came here three years ago during the now well-known Omega Incident, her breath had caught in her throat. Vincent was lying on the ground – the fact that the gunslinger had been beat was reason enough to worry – with Rosso the Crimson standing over him. Her mind screamed at her that Vincent _had _to still be alive. She __**wouldn't**_ _accept him dying here of all places. _

Yuffie let out a breath, her heart pounding in her chest. Vincent was here, she was in Nibelheim. She was . . . _alright_. She made her way down the stairwell, the large foyer of the Manor bright in the early morning light. She shivered as her feet left the carpeted stairs to the hardwood flooring. She made her way across the foyer floor – she had to admit it, she hadn't eaten for the past sixteen hours probably – in the general direction of the kitchen.

"I can't believe this," she mumbled to herself, trailing her hand across the wall. "I'm really here . . ."

"Good morning Yuffie," Yuffie froze, her heart pounding as she heard _that_ voice. "Did you sleep well?"

Yuffie's breath caught at those simple words, her body temperature rising as she slowly turned around. As she stood in the doorway, Yuffie's storm grey eyes widened as she looked into the large, and bright, kitchen. It didn't take her long to find the gunslinger sitting at the table; he was dressed pretty much like she last remembered; only his red cloak seemed to be missing. She frowned slightly; he looked different without it on . . . like he _wasn't_ the Vincent she knew. Subconsciously, she wondered how much had changed since she last saw them all; she had seen Reeve and Shelke a couple times on the news, but that seemed to be all.

Vincent raised an eyebrow as the ninja didn't move from the doorway. "Are you alright?"

Yuffie shook her head, breaking her train of thought. "How did I get here?" she whispered; her voice quieter now that she was around someone.

Vincent sighed, indicating to the chair across the table from him. Yuffie blinked, her storm grey eyes blinking as she looked at him momentarily. _Was he for real?_ her mind shouted at her, Chekov _never_ said that to her. Noticing Vincent's crimson eyes on her, she dropped her gaze downwards as she made her way into the kitchen, sitting down in the chair opposite him, vaguely noticing the chair was already pulled out.

Crimson eyes watched the ninja fidgeting in the chair, her eyes downcast, running her finger idly across the pattern in his wood table. How unlike her, she normally wouldn't sit down, but try to drag him out of his chair and outside – probably to the _never_ ending party in the sleepless town.

"Where have you been Yuffie?"

Yuffie cast a brief glance at him. "Wutai mostly."

He had to strain to hear her voice, when had she gotten so _quiet_? She sounded, like the so-called _perfect Wutai woman_ she used to joke about. He frowned at the thought, his eyes narrowing remembering what Yuffie used to tell him about Wutai and her father pushing her in the direction of every man of high Wutai birth like her.

Had _that_ happened to her, he couldn't imagine Yuffie letting her father talk her into anything . . .

"Tifa was really worried about you, she went all the way to Wutai to try and find you."

He shook his head; Tifa was _almost_ as loud as Yuffie. The bartender appeared in Nibelheim one night on her Chocobo, worry etched across her face, her cell phone clutched tightly in her hand. At first he thought something had happened to her or her kids, Cloud out on another one of his odd missions. All Tifa was able to talk about was Yuffie and that she _needed_ – no, it was more like demanding – Vincent come with her to the oriental country. She knew she wouldn't be able to get too far on her own without being pushed away or looked down upon, that, and she knew that Vincent and Yuffie seemed to have the strongest bond.

"She was really worried about you, the last time I saw her, she _still_ had your text message in her phone."

He noticed something in the girl change slightly, at the mention of that text message she seemed to sit up straighter, her eyes meeting his and holding his gaze for a couple seconds before dropping her eyes to the table again.

"I didn't know what else to do."

"What happened, Yuffie?" Vincent asked; he hated hearing the girl so . . . lost? "Were – no, _**are**_ – you in trouble?"

Yuffie shook her head, running a hand through her long hair, resting her forehead in her palm. She couldn't tell him . . . he'd look down on her then, no wonder why no one other then tourists came to Wutai – they _wouldn't_ understand tradition.

Vincent shook his head, his crimson eyes staring at Yuffie. "Whose coat is that? Your _husband's_ or a lover's maybe?"

Yuffie tensed; her heart beating against her ribcage. How did Vincent know? She cast a quick glance up at him; his crimson eyes were staring at her waiting patiently for her answer, biting down on her bottom lip. She couldn't tell him . . . he _wouldn't_ understand. She was a Princess of high birth and needed to marry someone of the same standing at her . . . it was her father's last wish. She couldn't disobey her father's last wish and _leave_ Chekov and Wutai, no matter what happened.

_That's what comes with being a Princes though_, she had thought idly. _You don't get any choices; it's all predetermined you for at birth_.

"It's . . . mine."

Vincent narrowed his crimson eyes at Yuffie, the ninja avoiding his glance. "You're lying; Yuffie and you're _not_ good at it. What is happening in Wutai?"

Yuffie didn't glance at him, trying to tune the gunslinger out, put up those walls she had gotten so used to. She shook her head slightly, he didn't need to know, and it _didn't_ concern him. He didn't – shouldn't – worry about her. Her marriage was never publicized to the media, Wutai was never on the news; it was a tourist trap, nothing more.

"I have to go," Yuffie finally whispered, moving to stand up.

Vincent sighed, closing his crimson eyes before standing up. Yuffie bit down on her lip as she pulled the old beat up coat onto her body, the material cold against her skin, her pajamas very thin and frayed in some parts. At first look you wouldn't have ever thought she was a Princess, like those girls from last night, people believed she was just looking for a good time. She smirked inwardly at that thought, how close they were.

"You're not leaving, Yuffie," Vincent said, standing in the doorway, keeping the ninja in the kitchen. "I _want_ to know what's wrong with you."

"Nothing, I just wanted to see you," she said, looking briefly at him. "Nothing more."

"I hardly believe that," Vincent crossed his arms over his chest. Yuffie fidgeted under the stare he fixed her with it; how she _always_ hated that look, it seemed to pierce her right through. "From the way you acted last night . . ."

"_Last night_? Oh . . . did we – did I –" she trailed off. Last night was a blur to her; she just remembered the boat ride to Nibelheim. Had she slept with Vincent last night?

Vincent narrowed his eyes, connecting the pieces of her confused words. "We did nothing last night, Yuffie," he noticed the girl relax slightly at his words. "When you showed up you said you _needed_ my help repeatedly and before you past out, you commented you knew I'd come for you. What happened to you?"

Yuffie bit down on her lip. Why'd she go to Vincent last night? She should have known he'd see through her . . . She glanced up to him; his crimson eyes were still staring at her she noted.

Before she could say anything, the radio playing lowly on Vincent's refrigerator cut off the song it was playing, a news anchor's voice coming on.

"We are sorry to interrupt, but we have just gotten word of a serious problem facing the oriental country Wutai," Yuffie froze at the words of the news anchor, her arms coming up, wrapping around her upper body. She bit down on her lip, aware of Vincent's now intense gaze on her, trying to contain the shudders that were trying to escape her. "The Wutai Princess, Yuffie Kisaragi, was deemed missing early this morning by her husband and the members of the Royal Council. They believe that the missing Princess is still in their country due to her fear of water and heights, but they wish to extend a hand to the people of both AVALANCE and the WRO to locate Miss. Kisaragi. A reward has been offered upon the location of Miss. Kisaragi and her safe return to Wutai. More information will follow on channel six's, six o'clock news with Junon's lovable television personality Emi Saffron."

With that said, the news anchor's voice disappeared, a lively song coming on its place. Yuffie didn't say anything, her teeth biting into her lip, the tang of blood entering her mouth. Her arms held her upper body tightly, unable to hold the shudders that escaped her, trying to stifle a cry that wanted to escape her as well. She forgot about Vincent standing two feet in front of her, the gunslinger's crimson eyes staring worriedly at the distressed ninja before him.

She had to get home to Wutai . . . perhaps she could make up some sort of lie about where she'd been; that she hadn't left Wutai. It could work, but Chekov would still be _unimpressed_ with her; she wasn't the perfect Wutai woman yet. Yuffie jumped out of her thoughts as she felt Vincent's presence before her, a slight gasp escaping her lips as she felt Vincent's arms go around her body, pulling her flush against him. Her storm grey eyes wide, she just blinked, unsure what to say. Feeling the ninja stiffen beneath him at his touch, he just sighed, placing his chin on top of her head, his hand running up her back.


	3. 03: Broadcast

_Do you feel like a man  
when you push her around?  
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?  
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end  
as your lies crumble down, a new life she has found._

_Face Down - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus_

---

Chekov gritted his teeth together – he thought he had beaten out all the ideas of running away and free thinking from the now calm and quiet Yuffie Kisaragi. The ninja seemed to have disappeared over the course of the night. He couldn't fathom why, she hadn't seemed to mind what happened the night previous, the majority of it anyway.

He rolled his eyes, it didn't really matter what the Kisaragi Princess thought; she belonged to him anyway. The ring that resided on her finger bound her to him; mind, body and soul as the lines from Leviathan go. If Yuffie had broken the vows she gave in the presence of Leviathan, he'd make the smaller girl regret that.

"My Lord," came a muffled voice sounded, followed by a sharp knock on the door.

Chekov narrowed his eyes as he turned around. The voice belonged to a male, so it wasn't Yuffie. If the girl came back on her own free will before he found her, it would go a lot smoother for the Wutai heir.

"Enter," was his formal response.

The opaque screen door adorned with a bamboo print was forced open, Staniv standing in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest.

"The civilians of Wutai have been notified of Miss. Yuffie's disappearance and they believe that she might have tried to flee the country."

Chekov shook his head. "While that may be possible, with her irrational fear of heights and water there is a very slim chance Yuffie has left Wutai."

"But my Lord," Staniv said, bowing in respect. "She traveled on both water and air with her friends from AVALANCE and the WRO; it is possible she might have braved it to visit one of them."

Chekov frowned; he didn't believe Yuffie would go that far to escape him, she _knew_ it was futile. Yuffie would not be able to escape his sight for that long. "I had not believed she would disobey me like that, I forbade her from contact with them, she _knows_ the consequences. If she is found with one of them, you know what to do."

Staniv nodded. "Isn't that a bit _harsh_?"

"It will show her who is in charge," Chekov shrugged, nonchalant. "Has the Junon News Crew arrived?"

Staniv nodded. "Emi Saffron and her crew have arrived by their airship just outside the city. Shall we bring them here?"

Chekov nodded, turning his back on Staniv. He frowned as he made his way to the small bedroom window, glancing out the window at the bright city. "Yes, have them set up in the Living Room, I will meet them there."

"The _Living Room_?" Staniv questioned. "Isn't that where . . .?"

Chekov sighed, running a hand across his face. "The Kitchen then, there is no time for the Living Room – I _want_ this on the ten o'clock news."

Staniv frowned. "They said they will play it with the rest of their stories at six o'clock, their line up for ten o'clock has already been booked."

"That won't do," Chekov glared over his shoulder at Staniv. "This is an emergency for our entire country; there must be some story that's not as important."

Staniv nodded, bowing to the older man before bowing out of the room. "I will try and accommodate your needs."

"You will not try, you _will_ succeed." Chekov said before the door closed.

Staniv nodded, his footsteps disappearing down the hardwood floor to the stairwell. Chekov narrowed his eyes, a smirk coming to his features as he noticed the small group coming up the path to the Pagoda and the Royal housing, the blonde haired woman in front being Emi Saffron.

He sighed, pulling the blind down to block the light of the room. He shook his head, where had _his_ Yuffie gone? If she had disappeared and left the country – what did that say for _**their**_ country? The girl would need to learn more respect when she returned home.

Angrily, he slid the door open, his face turned up into a scowl. The Kisaragi Princess was more of a hassle then anything else. The hardwood floor creaked beneath him and as he started down the curved stairwells to the lowest level of the house, he calmed down when he heard the voices and clatter of the news crew.

Down the hallway, his dark eyes flickered momentarily to the messy Living Room as he slid the doors shut before turning into the kitchen.

"Yes, yes, place the camera there," he heard Emi Saffron say as she pushed her blonde hair out of he way. "From this angle we'll have more light, I want this interview to be _perfect_ – we are the _**only**_ outside news team allowed to cover this story."

He knew he had chosen well, Emi Saffron was well known for spinning stories for the desired effect of the interviewee. "I am glad you were able to come at such a short notice."

Emi jumped at the sound of his low voice, turning around to glance at him with her perfectly painted lips. "Lord Chekov, I thank you for letting us come here," Emi said, bowing to the Wutai Lord, her deep blue eyes never leaving his. Emi's lips twitched slightly, she noticed his dark eyes flicker minutely to her low cut collar.

Chekov nodded, waving for Emi to stand up, the blonde haired woman doing so. Extending his hand, he moved into the room, indicating for the blonde to sit down in the bright kitchen. "Shall we begin then?"

Emi nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, lets," she smiled, winking at her cameraman. "Please start the camera."

The cameraman nodded, turning the camera on. "Okay Miss. Saffron in five, four, three," he put his fingers up to signal the numbers two and one before pointing at the two.

As the camera came to life, Emi smiled in the direction of the camera, before casting her blue eyes over to Chekov, sitting across the table from her.

---

Blue eyes shifted from her computer terminal in front of her to the television sitting across the small office from her. Her eyes shifted to the clock resting against the wall – nine fifty-eight am. It'd be on in two minutes, this was something she _had_ to see for herself.

Something wasn't right and she knew it.

Standing up from her swivel chair, she pulled the dark coloured curtains shut to cut out the glare from the sun on the screen, flicking the lights on as she walked. Picking up the television remote from her small table, she slumped down into one of the chairs, turning the volume up as she reached Channel Six.

"And, now we take you to Wutai with our own Emi Saffron. Emi, are you there?"

In a small square box in the corner of the screen showed a blonde haired woman sitting in a kitchen, smiling at the camera. "Hello Alina, I am sitting here in Wutai at the Royal house with Lord Chekov who has just lost his wife of three years; Yuffie Kisaragi formerly of both AVALANCE and the WRO."

Blue eyes narrowed as she watched Emi Saffron smiling sweetly at _Lord_ Chekov. How she hated that woman . . .

"If you have not heard the news yet, Miss. Kisaragi disappeared from the Royal house here in Wutai late yesterday. It is currently unknown where her location is but I have been assured they believe she's still here," Emi smiled at the camera, turning her attention back to Chekov, his dark eyes never leaving hers. "Lord Chekov, is it true you believe Miss. Kisaragi is still here? What has led you to believe that?"

Chekov glanced over at the camera, before back to Emi, the blonde woman mumbling for him to ignore the camera. "My wife has always had an irrational fear of water and heights, as the people from AVALANCE and the WRO should be well aware of. That aside, we believe she is here, but none the less, we will need the help of her old friends in order to find her. There is a good chance she might have tried to make contact with them –"

In the dark room, she rolled her blue eyes. If the information she had managed to successfully retrieve from Wutai's database, she _knew_ the ninja wouldn't be in Wutai. _Lord Chekov_ – she rolled her eyes again, he was no lord – was delusional if he seriously believed Yuffie wouldn't run for it. Drumming her fingers on the armrest, her eyes narrowing intently at the screen, she wondered what had taken the spunky ninja so long.

"Is there any one person you believe she would have, or wishes to make contact with?" Emi probed, leaning interestedly across the table.

_That's easy, it would __**have**__ to be Valentine_.

"There is no one, when we married she agreed that she didn't need her _rough and vulgar_ friends anymore. Yuffie told me she wanted to start over and try to lead the life her father wished her to lead."

_Liar_, she thought, glaring at the oriental man on the screen.

Emi nodded thoughtfully. "If you don't mind me asking – the audience must be _curious_ – but how come her marriage was never made public until now? Miss. Kisaragi is a celebrity for the countless things she has done regarding the Planet's safety; wouldn't that have boosted Wutai's morals?"

Chekov shook his head, dismissing Emi's words. "Miss. Saffron – or Emi, can I call you that? – we have many traditions here in Wutai that are rarely to be broken. We view marriage as sacred here, something that is shared between _only_ two people and their immediate family. Putting _our_ wedding on the news so everyone in the Planet would know our move was out of the question – Leviathan would be against that; something new married couples fear. Although Yuffie wished her friends could have been there, she knew too well that it was out of the question."

"I see," Emi trailed off, shrugging. It looked like the blonde news anchor didn't get it. "If you do not wish your marriage to be so public, why have you come out about it now?"

"I wish to find my wife; I miss her next to me. The way she makes me smile and her energy for life gives me a great joy. Since she has been taken away from me, I worry about her safety; as of late she had not been feeling very well. The civilians in Wutai are missing their energetic Princess as well, announcing her disappearance to the rest of the Planet will bring her home to me quicker."

_Yuffie – not feeling well __**and**__ staying indoors_? _She couldn't see Yuffie doing that; even when she was sick she'd still get up and go if it was Vincent who asked her. The ninja would go and do anything for the gunslinger, she tried not to show it, but Yuffie had _feelings _for him. _

"You said Yuffie was not feeling well, what might be wrong with her? If she is sick, we hope she returns home quick and safely."

"I do to," Chekov said, his eyes glancing down at the table momentarily. "It is believed that Yuffie Kisaragi might be with child as she had come down with a high temperature and suffered from intense migraines that she had trouble moving around. Until we were completely certain of her condition, we have been trying to take exceptionally good care of her. I do not want anything to happen to my wife and especially to any child Leviathan might grant us with."

_The lies keep getting better, he must have rehearsed this_, she thought, her short temper rising.

Emi nodded, reaching out a hand and resting it on Chekov's hand. "That is reason enough to worry if she is indeed with child and suffering from all of her current problems. Now, the question we've all been _dying_ to know – do you believe she left of her _own_ free will?"

"Excuse me?"

"Do you think she might have been kidnapped for an unknown ransom yet? Have any of her friends tried to make contact with her?"

Chekov frowned, thinking. "My wife hasn't made contact with her friends since the Omega Incident since we were married soon afterwards. However, her friends did show up a couple weeks ago wishing to invite her to a surprise birthday party or something," Chekov shrugged vaguely, not really _remembering_ what it had been about. "But with Yuffie's condition, I had to send them away; she was in _no_ shape to party like the rest of them do?"

_A couple weeks ago – more like two and a half years ago._

"Like the rest of them? Do tell as Miss. Kisaragi must have mentioned it to you; how do the members of AVALANCE and WRO act behind closed doors."

Chekov shook his head, running a hand across his face. "They do not act like they do in the public eye –"

She flicked the television off, Chekov's face disappearing from the screen. Her anger rising, she threw the remote onto the table, Mako eyes glaring at the black screen. Pushing her brown bangs out of her eyes, she threw her door open, the heavy wooden door banging against the bookshelf behind the door. Vaguely noticing the people in the corridor jump at the bang from her door, they quickly got out of her way as they noticed her hands balling up into fists, her features turned up in anger.

"So, now he's going to _try_ and turn the public against us as well? He had _no_ idea what he's dealing with if he tried to overthrow the WRO," she mumbled angrily to herself, a smirk gracing her features at the thought the arrogant Wutai man.

She was still grumbling to herself as she reached the end of her hallway, pushing open the door for the stairwell. She took a deep breath as the coolness of the closed off stairwell wrapped around her, her eyes turning gold as she opened them, quickly running up the curved stairwells as she called on the remains of her Tsviet strength.

---

"How is everything going in Gongaga – please tell me everything is going smoothly," Reeve said, propping his chin on his palm.

The blonde haired man across from him leaned back in his chair, a smirk gracing his features. "It is fine, your people are almost finished cleaning up the old Reactor – are you sure this is worth it?"

"Yes, I believe it is," Reeve said with a nod. "You agreed that after the Omega Incident that you wanted to right the wrongs that your father did."

"I know," Rufus frowned, drumming his fingers on the armrest. "But it's not very _interesting_, you know? Hardly anyone lives there now . . ."

"That doesn't matter," Reeve interjected, glaring across the desk at Rufus. "You knew it wouldn't be that fun –"

"Mr. Tsueti?" the intercom cut in.

Reeve sighed, glancing at the small box. "What is it?"

"We have a small situation down here –"

"Just get _out_ of my way; I have something important to tell him . . . no, I _don't_ care if he's in a meeting. I especially not care if it's _Rufus ShinRa_."

Reeve shook his head, it was Shelke. "Just let her through."

Rufus smirked, rolling his eyes. "How do you _deal_ with her? She's almost as bad as Kisaragi was."

The door slammed open to allow Shelke inside, the door closing behind her. "How nice of you to join us, Shelke . . . we weren't discussing _anything_ of importance."

"Shut up ShinRa," Shelke commented, hands crossed over her chest as she moved into the room, stopping in front of Reeve's desk. "We have a problem with Wutai."

"You're not _still_ on about that, are you?" Rufus commented from behind her. "We all _know_ Kisaragi is dead – she hasn't been seen for three years now."

Shelke glared at him, but chose to ignore him. "Yuffie Kisaragi is alive somewhere – it's all over the news."

Reeve raised an eyebrow. "Yuffie's been seen?"

"Not yet," Shelke commented with a frown. "She _can't_ be found, turn on Channel Six news."

Rufus rolled his eyes. "Not Emi Saffron, she denounced you and you _still_ watch her?"

"Hardly, it's been all over the radio and television this morning; she's missing. _Lord_ Chekov's on the news. Turn on the television."

"Just humor her," Rufus grumbled, grabbing the remote from Reeve's desk, the television flickering to life. "It's probably just another ploy to get tourists to come – they might get to _see_ Kisaragi now."

Shelke glared at him, the blonde narrowly missing her hand as she tried to smack him. "Shut up."

"And, that's all the time we have now, tune back in for the twelve o'clock news where we will have more on Miss. Kisaragi's alleged kidnapping. If you find her, please be cautious about approaching her as Miss. Lockheart and Mr. Valentine are well known in their fighting ability. Please contact your local police if you find her. As we fade out, we have a current photo of the missing Princess and back to you Alina." With a smile, Emi and Lord Chekov disappeared from the screen, a photo appearing on the screen.

It was definitely Yuffie if you looked closely at the girl. Her long black hair had grown out since the last time the three of them had seen her. Her hair seemed to be pinned elaborately onto the top of her head, a couple of tendrils hanging down and brushing her shoulders, dark bangs covering her forehead. She looked a little paler – Shelke frowned as that, Yuffie looked like _her_ when she was freed from her prison.

As the television flickered back to the news crew in Junon, Reeve turned it off. "It looks like Yuffie . . ."

"That's because it is," Shelke said forcefully. "When I heard about that this morning, I managed to set up a tentative terminal linking me to Wutai –"

"Shelke, you _didn't_!" Reeve shouted, locking eyes with her; he _hated_ it when she did her SND dives.

"I _had_ to," Shelke challenged. "It all seems to fake, Chekov does not care about the well being of Yuffie, he says he's been keeping her away from the public eye because she's believed to be pregnant and has a raging fever. If that was true, _why_ wouldn't he have a doctor look at her? Wouldn't that help her and stop her _issues_ as he put it. He commented that both Vincent and Tifa went looking for her a couple weeks ago and he alluded to the fact that when we're not in the public eye, we all get drunk," Shelke glared at Rufus. "_Do_ something about Reno."

"What did you find out?"

Shelke smiled at Reeve, dropping down into the free chair. "There is no record of Yuffie's _supposed_ death we all thought might have happened, but there was a wedding between Yuffie and Chekov; he acknowledged it on the interview as well."

"Yuffie's married?"

"Then there's nothing we can do," Rufus shrugged. "Marriage problems have _nothing_ to do with us; the WRO doesn't do that sort of thing."

"Then leave," Shelke shrugged. "_**Friends**_ do."

Rufus rolled his eyes before looking over at Reeve. "You're not really going are you? You _know_ it's a ploy to get people to go there."

Reeve sighed. "As much as I'd like to find Yuffie, we have no idea _where_ she could be?"

"Where else would she be?" Shelke replied, wasn't it obvious? "She'd go to Nibelheim."

"She could . . ."

"She _would_," Shelke said, pushing herself out of the chair. "I'm going to Nibelheim anyway, there's still a DragonFly here I presume?"

Reeve shook his head, watching Shelke leave the office, slamming the door behind her. "Is there any way we could continue this later?"

Rufus rolled his eyes, smirking. "You're _worried_ about her, aren't you?" At Reeve's confused look, he sighed. "Of Miss. Rui, I mean. I see the way you look at her, just go I'll just _wait_ – don't take forever though."

Reeve nodded to the blonde haired man as he hurried past him and out the door after Shelke. Rufus shook his head as the door closed behind the WRO commissioner; things might _finally_ be getting interesting . . .

---

The sun higher in the sky now, the Living Room curtains drawn to keep the bright light out of the room, Vincent glanced over at Yuffie. Since the announcement about her on the radio this morning she had gotten quieter then before. He frowned, his crimson eyes staring intently at the girl. Yuffie's storm grey eyes stayed drawn to the black screen of the television, Chekov's interview with Emi Saffron having just finished up.

_This is only going to get worse_, he thought, hating to admit it to himself.

He didn't like seeing Yuffie like this, it _wasn't_ her. His crimson eyes glanced down to the large wrap gracing Yuffie's foot. He hadn't noticed it at first, not until he had tried to move her into the living room, the ninja wincing and letting a small scream escape her as she placed weight upon it. When he asked her what had happened, she had started to cry and repeatedly say she was sorry. It turned out she was looking at the photos on the dresser, dropping the one that held Lucrecia's picture; the broken glass shards littering the floor.

It pained him to know that Yuffie _feared_ telling him.

He didn't care about the state of the picture frame – it could easily be replaced if need be.

"Yuffie," he finally said, breaking the silence. He drew his eyebrows together in agitation as Yuffie didn't look over at him. "I want you to tell me everything."

Yuffie didn't look at him, her only answer being a shrug, her storm grey eyes locked on the television.

Vincent sighed, closing his eyes momentarily; he hated doing this to her. "Yuffie . . ." Yuffie flinched at the low tone, flicking a glance at him. "You're to tell me _everything_ that's happened, do you understand?"

A small smile graced her features as storm grey met crimson. "So, _you're_ going to threaten me too?"

---

AN: If you know Chekov's personality, you get the song choice.


	4. 04: Arrival

_She fooled all of her friends,  
Into thinking she's so strong,  
But she still sleeps with the light on,  
And she acts like it's all right on,  
As she smiles again  
Her mother lies there sick with cancer,  
And her friends don't understand her,  
She's a question without answers,  
Who feels like falling apart_

_She knows, she's so much more than worthless,  
But she needs to find her purpose,  
She wonders what she, did to deserve this ..._

_This Is A Call -- Thousand Foot Krutch_

---

Vincent blinked; surprised at the sarcasm and the dark glare Yuffie had thrown in his direction. _Threaten_ her? "Yuffie, what are you talking about?" The ninja seemed to be more confused in her thinking.

Yuffie just shook her head. "You're _just_ like him . . . right?"

Vincent sighed, annoyed at Yuffie's way of skirting around his questions. "Yuffie, _**stop **_this. Tell me who this _him_ is and what the hell has happened to you."

"Vincent . . ." Yuffie glanced up, locking her eyes with his. "If I tell you you'll just hate me – you'll probably _kick_ me out."

Vincent shook his head, moving from the chair he sat in to the couch Yuffie had sat into. "I doubt I could hate you, Yuffie."

Yuffie just let out an awkward laugh, shifting minutely away from Vincent as he sat down beside her. Her movement didn't escape Vincent's eyes causing the gunslinger to let out a sigh before he reached over pulling the ninja to him. Yuffie stiffened as she felt Vincent's arms wrap around her shoulders, pulling her into his lap, crushing the younger girl to him.

"Vincent . . ."

Letting go of his grip on her, he dropped his arms to her waist, noticing the worry in her storm grey eyes. "I already told you, Yuffie, _nothing_ will happen to you here. So, tell me what's been happening."

Yuffie sighed, closing her eyes tightly, stiffening at Vincent's words. "You really want to know? Well . . ."

_Yuffie narrowed her eyes as she heard fists pounding heavily on her door, followed by the sounds of someone trying to open her door. She allowed a small smirk to come to her features – thank Leviathan she had thought to install locks all those years ago._

"_Miss. Kisaragi, come out here – this is childish."_

_Yuffie rolled her eyes, it was Chekov. That was just a moment of weakness the second she said she'd agree to marry him. She didn't want him . . . she had to admit it to herself; she had a large (and steadily growing) crush on her silent companion, Vincent Valentine. As if the gunslinger would ever know about that . . ._

"_Go away Chekov, I don't care what my father says – or demands of me, he does __**not**__ control me!"_

"_He is your father and the Lord of Wutai, you must come out, Leviathan wishes it."_

_Yuffie bit down on her lip. Leviathan! She wanted to roll her eyes, how like Chekov. "I don't care – I didn't ask for this."_

"_It is your birth right," Chekov said calmly, trying to keep the aggravation out of his voice. "You're the _Princess _of Wutai; you must make sacrifices for your country. You know you should not be parading around the television with multiple men beside you. What do you think that says about you and our country?"_

_Yuffie was silent. ". . . are you calling me a whore?!"_

_Chekov was silent, shrugging. "You are the representative of Wutai, if you disgrace yourself in front of the Planet, then you disgrace Wutai as well."_

_Yuffie glared heatedly at the door, her temper rising. Chekov smirked as he heard the door unlocking, knowing his well placed words would work against the ninja. Fumbling with the lock in her anger, Yuffie pushed the door back – the door banging heavily against the wall behind her – glaring heatedly at Chekov, her hair disheaved. _

"_How _dare _you say I disgrace Wutai – I saved the Planet __**three**__ times!"_

"_Yes, you showed your aggression – something a Princess should not possess – to the entire Planet. Although you did a great thing, it was out of line, a Princess should never raise a fist –"_

"_Technically, I raised a Conformer. Tifa used –"_

"_Regardless," Chekov cut her off, shaking his head. "You still did it; all you were supposed to do was collect materia."_

"_Get out of my house," Yuffie commented, looking away from Chekov. "You don't belong here; this is for the Kisaragi family."_

_Chekov smirked, holding out a hand to stop the door Yuffie tried to close. "You forget, we are to be married, my _wife_."_

"_You forget as well," Yuffie smiled sarcastically. "I never agreed."_

"_As a woman, it does not really matter. Your father will choose your husband; you don't think your parents met and fell in love did you? It was duty – and it's time you took your place; silently beside a man."_

_Yuffie glared at him. "That will change as soon as I'm in charge."_

_Chekov smiled at her, grabbing Yuffie's arm, pulling her from her room. Yuffie let out a gasp as he gripped her arm tightly, pulling her roughly against his chest. Yuffie winced as his grip tightened – she couldn't feel her arm very well – before turning her face up to glare at him from her position against his chest. _

"_As a woman, you won't be able to change anything; why else did your father stop paying attention to you after Ayumi died?" Chekov paused. "Your mother wanted him to love you – despite you being a girl. Although the Kisaragi line will end with you, we will create a new Wutai."_

"_A new Wutai?" She didn't like this turn of events . . ._

"_Lord Chekov! Miss. Kisaragi!"_

_Chekov let out a groan and Yuffie rolled her eyes, deep down glad for the interruption. Chekov pushed Yuffie away from him, the oriental girl wincing as she connected with the wall. She threw a haunting glare at Chekov, crossing her arms in front of her chest as Staniv appeared on the top of the Pagoda steps, clearly out of breath. _

"_What is it, Staniv?" Chekov asked, moving swiftly towards Staniv with a grace Yuffie could never possess. "My wife and I were just discussing our wedding."_

_Staniv looked from Chekov to Yuffie and back again. "Miss. Kisaragi agreed? That is wonderful news, Lord Godo will be pleased."_

_Yuffie huffed, coming up behind Chekov, her footsteps heavy against the hardwood floor. "I didn't agree –"_

_She was cut off, her hand flying to her cheek as Chekov spun around, his hand connecting with her cheek. "As you see, she doesn't know her place yet – all that time with those AVALANCE terrorists . . ."_

"_They – we're heroes!"_

_Chekov let out a growl, grabbing Yuffie's arm tightly, pulling the smaller woman to him regardless of her intake of breath. "Now, you said you wanted to tell us something; it is important correct?"_

_Staniv nodded, falling back into his position. "Yes, Lord Godo wishes to see both you, Lord Chekov and Miss. Kisaragi in his chambers immediately. We fear that his condition has changed for the worse."_

"_We will be right down," Chekov said, bowing to Staniv._

_Staniv bowed in response, moving away towards the stairwell. _

_Chekov watched as Staniv disappeared down the stairs and out of sight before glancing down at Yuffie, the oriental girl trying to pry his fingers off her. "You see, _Yuffie_," he hissed, leaning down to her level. "Your father's condition has changed for the worse. Perhaps if you hadn't fought this union all this time, your father might not be in this condition . . ."_

_Yuffie froze, her eyes widening slightly. "Are you saying this is my fault?"_

_Chekov shrugged, running his free hand down her arm. "I wouldn't know, but your father got like this after your return," Chekov glanced down at her, his dark eyes trailing over her body. Yuffie didn't miss the glance or the look he had in his eyes. "You're wasting my time on your chatter, dear. Your father is wishing to see you . . ."_

_Yuffie sighed, allowing Chekov to drag her down the hallway and stairwell, her father's room being on the floor below her. _For safety reasons_, he had told her. Yuffie rolled her eyes at that, it wasn't for safety reasons. It was so that she wouldn't be able to leave in the middle of the night; she'd have to pass his room and Chekov's – it would be impossible; Yuffie _never _was one for being quiet. _

_Not paying attention to where she was being dragged – only aware of Chekov's tight grip on her upper arm – when he stopped, she walked right into his back. She didn't respond as he threw a dark look at her before knocking on the door._

"_Enter," was the only response, and a weak one at that. _

_Chekov nodded, sliding the door open and pushed Yuffie in before him. "My Lord," Chekov bowed low. "We have come like you wished."_

_Yuffie rolled her eyes as Chekov bowed low to her father – as if! Why'd she have to bow to her father anyway? She tried to stifle a cry as Chekov noticed she was still standing, pulling roughly on her arm. She winced; it felt like her arm was going to be ripped out of her socket, as her knees hit the hardwood floor with force. _

"_I am sorry, my Lord," Chekov apologized, before shaking his head at Yuffie. "I have made very little progress with your daughter, she will not listen."_

"_Yuffie," came Godo's voice, it sounded weak unlike the demanding father she remembered. _

'_Yes, father?"_

"_I want you to be happy," – here Yuffie grinned, she didn't need Chekov, her father agreed! "With Chekov, you two will lead a happy life." _

_. . . and then her grin faded. "But father! I – I –"_

"_You must make sacrifices for Wutai, Yuffie. You are a Princess and because of that you must give up your happiness for that of your country."_

"_That's stupid – I won't do it."_

"_Do it for me," Godo said, his eyes closing. "I want you to make Wutai the place that it was before the war. I know that with Chekov by your side, you will be able to achieve that."_

"_But –"_

_  
Godo smiled at her. "Promise me you won't let anything happen to our country. Promise me you'll do **anything** to protect this country, even if you must sacrifice things along the way."_

_Yuffie hated to admit it, but seeing her father like that made her heart want to break. She could feel it beating rapidly in her chest, pushing against her ribcage. She watched her father's eyes close slightly, each time he had a harder time trying to reopen them. She had lost her mother . . . she had seen Aeris die in front of her . . . had been the first to locate Shalua's body . . . she **didn't** want to see her father die in front of her as well._

"_I promise . . . I __**promise**_ _I'll do whatever it takes . . ."_

"_That's my girl," her father said, the _last _thing he ever said. _

Yuffie sighed, leaning back against Vincent's frame. Telling Vincent what had happened to her since the Omega Incident, actually _speaking_ to someone who wouldn't hit her, beat her or abuse her felt nice for a change.

She didn't know why, but it felt as if a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. And she didn't mind in the slightest. "And that's what happened."

Vincent was silent for a few seconds, his arms loose around her waist as she leaned against him. It sounded like she had been through hell . . . she had only agreed to marry Chekov because it was her father's dying wish.

"That sounds horrible, Yuffie . . ." he said at length.

He knew she was hiding more from him though, that couldn't have been the end of her troubles – it had been the _beginning_. Why else would she have stood so far away from him last night and been _afraid_ to tell him about the picture frame she had accidentally broken. Yuffie just sighed, her hand timidly grabbing his, his large hand engulfing her smaller one.

"You're not angry?" her voice was no more then a whisper.

Vincent shook his head, forcing down a laugh. Yuffie had never sounded so timid before, he didn't really like it. "No, you don't have to go back – only when you feel like it."

Yuffie closed her eyes, her body relaxing. "I don't want to – _ever_."

Vincent smiled at the small girl, shifting her around slightly so she'd be more comfortable; her head resting against his chest. Brushing her bangs out of her eyes, he grabbed the old blanket draped across the back of the couch, dropping it on the emotionally beat girl. He sighed; she needed a lot of rest.

Then, the doorbell rang.

Yuffie, somewhere between being awake and asleep, jerked awake. She felt her body temperature go up at the sound of the doorbell echoing in the large Manor, her body tensing up as she felt Vincent tense beneath her. Her small hand gripped Vincent's in hers, casting her eyes up at Vincent. Vincent suppressed a growl at the sound of the doorbell, his hands instantly tightening around the oriental girl's waist. He cast his crimson eyes down at Yuffie, reading the worry in her widened storm grey eyes.

"Who would that be?" she asked, seemingly shrinking as the doorbell rang again.

"I wouldn't know," Vincent said, glaring in the direction of the door. "Yuffie, I **want** you to stay here."

Yuffie shook her head. "No . . ."

Vincent sighed, shifting Yuffie so she was sitting on the couch instead. "Yuffie, you stay here. You're not going back to Wutai – and trust me, no one will be taking you forcefully."

Yuffie smiled slightly, drawing the old cover up to her chin, sinking against the armrest and the back of the couch. "I – I _trust_ you, Vincent."

She saw Vincent smile at her before making his way out of the Living Room, pulling the white sliding doors closed. His crimson eyes caught Yuffie's storm grey eyes once again, the ninja's eyes fighting to stay open. Hearing the door close, Yuffie let her eyes close, and pulling the covers closer to her, sunk down into the cushions of the couch.

With Vincent around, she knew she didn't have to worry . . . he wouldn't let _anything _happen to her.

---

Shelke frowned, as the DragonFly dropped down on the outskirts of Nibelheim. She cast a glance over at Reeve, her Mako blue eyes narrowing at him. It was unfair – he got to wear whatever he wanted too! Now she _hated_ that Emi Saffron. Two years ago Saffron had managed to find out that Shelke had been one of the Deepground Tsviet's and commented that she was working alongside the WRO as a lieutenant and had spun a story staying that the WRO only followed her orders because they were _scared_ of her and that when annoyed, she'd _end_ you. Needless to say that public hadn't been to keen to see the ex-Tsviet.

"I hate this . . ." she muttered, fixing her hair – currently a blonde wig.

Reeve shook his head, laughing as Shelke's words. "You actually look good as a blonde, you know?"

Shelke shot him a dark look. "That may be – but I don't see why I _have_ to wear a dress . . ."

Reeve smirked, the hatch of the DragonFly opening, the noise of the bustling city hitting them. "You needed a change."

"Maybe I don't want to change," Shelke commented, holding down the hem of her skirt as the breeze of the empty plains hit them. "Couldn't you have gotten anything longer?" The skirt came a couple inches above her knees.

Reeve just laughed, the DragonFly's hatch closing up behind them. Shelke cast a glance at him as he appeared beside her, trying to ignore the feeling in her chest as she felt Reeve's hand on her back, guiding her forward. "We're going to _Nibelheim_, Shelke. Not exactly the place for pants and dual weapons."

Shelke frowned, her eyes narrowing as they entered the bright and loud city, the cobbled street below them. That's why she always hated this city, it was too loud. She didn't know why Vincent _still_ lived here, he wasn't one for parties and loud noise – well, unless it was Yuffie. Shelke sighed, keeping her Mako eyes forward, aware of the multiple eyes on her. She gritted her teeth, hearing some of the louder comments about her, subconsciously moving closer to Reeve. She heard Reeve laugh slightly at her actions.

"I _hate_ this," Shelke said, once through the majority of the town.

Reeve laughed, dropping his hand from her back. "At least we can be _almost_ certain that Yuffie's here."

Shelke glared heatedly at him. "That was _mean_."

Hearing the comments about Shelke, Reeve had sent her over to a couple men leaning against a building to ask them about Yuffie. The men had shrugged, saying they hadn't seen her, but their girlfriends had; a girl dressed in worn pajama's and an old coat made her way towards the Manor saying she _needed_ to see the man that lived there. They had believed Yuffie was there for one thing only, _a good time_ as they put it.

"I can hardly believe Valentine using her like that," Shelke commented idly. "Not after everything that happened to him."

Reeve nodded. "We all know the rumors about Vincent . . . but if Yuffie _is_ there, we have to get her out."

Shelke raised an eyebrow, darkness engulfing the two as they left the bustling town behind. "You _honestly_ don't believe them, do you?"

"No, I know Vincent wouldn't do anything to her," Reeve said. "But, what Emi Saffron and Chekov said on the news, they made it seem that Vincent and Tifa allegedly kidnapped her. Too many people saw Yuffie come here, although they may not know it was her, they know someone oriental came here for him. It won't take long to put the pieces together when they see the news; and with the reward for her safe return to Wutai, it won't be long until someone contacts the Wutai Empire."

Shelke sighed as the Manor's gates appeared before them, Reeve silently inching them open. "You do know that if Yuffie's here, she's not going to want to leave . . . you saw her during the Omega Incident, she felt _completely_ safe with Valentine around."

Reeve nodded with a frown. "I noticed that too, but she'll have to come with us."

"Valentine will probably come too; he didn't think he showed it, but he _liked_ Yuffie – he probably still does. If anything might be wrong with her, he's not going to let her go."

Reeve shrugged, stopping in front of the Manor's door. Shelke crossed her arms in front of her chest, glad that the large trees were blocking that annoying wind. She shook her head at the doorbell, the sound echoing through the large foyer. She tapped her foot in annoyance, waiting for Vincent to answer the door – her coat wasn't giving her much warmth, even though there wasn't any snow on the ground yet.

"What's taking so long?" she eventually complained, throwing an annoyed look at Reeve, who shrugged.

When she heard the locks on the other side of the door being turned, she had to smile. "_Finally_," she breathed.

The ornate wooden door opened, Vincent standing in the doorframe. Had she not been in the Tsviets for so long, the dark look that Vincent has across his features could have made her flinch. She noticed he had his gloved hand resting on the gun holster on his hip. She knew it . . . Yuffie _was_ here after all.

"What's with the look?" she commented, pushing Vincent out of her way to get inside.

"Reeve, Shelke, why are you here?"

The frustration and aggravation in his tone didn't escape her ears, making her roll her eyes. "We _know_ about Yuffie – she was all over the news. She's here, isn't she?" Shelke didn't miss the glance Vincent sent in the direction of the Living Room doors. "In there? Bring her out here, we need to chat."

Vincent shook his head, stepping in front of the pulled doors, grabbing Shelke's arm before she could quickly pass him by – he had gotten used to her Tsviet skills. "What do you want with her?"

Shelke glared at him, pulling her arm away from him. He made it sound like _they_ were going to hurt her . . .

"We just plan to keep her safe for the time being," Reeve explained, closing the front door behind him. "Courtesy of Emi Saffron, everyone's going to believe that you and Tifa kidnapped her and too many people saw her come here last night. You saw her clothes, her attire was simply too _noticeable_ –"

"I doubt they spent much time in clothes –" Shelke commented idly.

Reeve sent Shelke a dark glare, aware of Vincent's heavy stare at the ex-Tsviet. "Vincent, if you want to keep Yuffie safe from whatever is going to happen next; she should be in the WRO headquarters . . ."

Vincent shook his head. Yuffie needed _him_, not the WRO . . . if she _didn't_ want to go, then she didn't have too. "She knows she not going back to Wutai unless she wants too –"

"You _think_ that's going to stop Chekov?" Shelke yelled, cutting him off. "You think he's going to just ignore her disappearance? He can't have the throne without her."

"That doesn't matter, she's not going back."

Shelke growled, throwing her hands up in anger – he was just being stubborn! "We all know _Chekov_ doesn't care about her, I can read between the lines," Shelke said, holding Vincent's gaze. "He's hurting her somehow – abuse perhaps? He's _**going**_ to come after her no matter where she is. You may be strong with or without Chaos, but you will not to able to keep her safe."

"I'm not leaving . . ."

Shelke jumped as she heard the small voice from behind Vincent. She hadn't even _heard_ the living room doors open minutely to let the ninja out.

"Yuffie . . ." Reeve trailed off, looking worriedly at the girl.

Yuffie didn't make any notion to move from her position between the closed door and Vincent, deciding to look out from around the gunslinger instead. Barefoot and still clad in her faded pajamas, the large blanket wrapped around her frame, making her look larger then she really was. What drew his attention the most was the paleness of her skin and the faded coloration adorning her skin and the wrap around her foot; drops of blood seeping through the wrap.

At Reeve's voice, she flicked her eyes to him – her eyes dull once more – shaking her head, her dark bangs falling into her eyes. "I'm _not_ leaving . . . I'm not, Vincent?"

Crimson eyes met Storm grey, nodding. Yuffie let out a sigh, her body relaxing slightly. "She's not leaving unless she wants too," Vincent said, looking from Shelke to Reeve. "I'm not forcing her to do anything."

"Think about this rationally," Shelke said, trying to keep her voice level. "It won't take Chekov long to narrow down where she could be – she went _everywhere_ with you during the Omega Incident."

Yuffie shook her head, dropping her eyes to the floor. "If Chekov does come for me – I'll just go _home_ with him. I – I just want to do what _**I**_ want for once . . ."

---

A/N: This one is pretty much self explanitory. Yuffie's been trying to hide what has been going on with her, and with what was discovered through flashbacks ... she might try and act tough and smile it off, but it's not really working out for her. Slowly, her world is falling apart, and Vincent's doesn't understand the majoroty of it, but ... yeah. This one was harder to explain.


	5. 05: Proposition

_I wanna get back  
To the old days  
when the phone would ring  
and I knew it was you.  
I wanna talk back  
And get yelled at  
Fight for nothing  
Like we used to  
Oh kiss me,  
like you mean it  
Like you miss me,  
cause I know that you do.  
I wanna get back  
Get back with you_

_Get Back -- Demi Lovato_

---

"Think about it rationally, Yuffie," Shelke had started, holding the ninja's storm grey eyes. "You can't stay here; Chekov will know to find you here. Surely, you don't **want** anything to happen . . ."

Yuffie was silent, slowly shaking her head. "I – I don't want _**anyone **_to be in _pain_ because of me."

Vincent didn't miss the _subtle_ glance Yuffie shot at him. He let out a sigh, pulling Yuffie's blanketed body to him, an arm around her to hold her tight. He shook his head as he gave a rare smile to the girl. "Surely, you know it'll take more then an overfed man to cause me pain."

Shelke sighed, gritting her teeth as she listened to their words. "And when she gets _taken_ away Vincent? When _she's_ in pain because you're trying to protect her? I never knew you could be selfish."

"He's not . . ."

"Shelke, as well as you know me, I won't let any harm come to her –"

"And Lucrecia? You let her bare Hojo's child – Sephiroth of all people. I do not like to stoop this low, but think about her and what'll happen to _her_ when this all comes to an end."

Yuffie winced as Vincent's gauntlet dug into the blanket, pushing against her skin. Vincent's eyes flickered to hers momentarily, loosening his grip on her smaller body, running his hand up her arm as a sort of apology.

"Let's talk about this _**calmly**_," Reeve said, stepping between Vincent and Shelke. "Perhaps we can continue this in the living room?"

Vincent nodded silently as Yuffie moved from his side, opening the doors behind them before ushering the three in. That was what a _perfect woman_ would do . . . Chekov would be _pleased_.

She jumped as Vincent's hand fell on her shoulder, shying away from his touch. She heard him sigh, prying her pale hands from their tight, clenched position against her collarbone.

"Yuffie, this isn't Wutai," she shivered as she heard Vincent's voice low in her ear. "You're not here to serve me, you're a guest."

Her storm grey eyes widened, a yelp escaping her lips as she felt Vincent's arm encircle her small waist, effortless picking the especially light girl up. Her eyes whirled up to look at him, fighting down a blush at the closeness to him – he wouldn't hurt her.

Following behind them, Shelke's Mako blue eyes narrowed as she followed them into the room, hearing Reeve close the living room's doors behind them. Sinking into the nearest armchair, Shelke crossed her arms over her chest. She never knew Valentine could be so . . . _possessive_ was it?

The gunslinger sat on the couch, Yuffie's tiny body curled up beside him, dwarfed by the large blanket encasing her body. She watched him run a hand over Yuffie's now long hair, mumbling something her enhanced hearing couldn't pick up, his hand stopping at her waist.

"Vincent," Shelke said, reverting back to first names. "You _know_ deep down she cannot stay here."

"Don't talk about leaving," Yuffie mumbled, fidgeting under the blankets to press herself against Vincent, to know he was there. "I don't want too . . . I just want to be here, left alone."

"Left alone?" Shelke picked up, raising an eyebrow. "That's hard with Valentine here and the Wutai Empire about to look under every rock and stone for you."

"Shelke," the brunette stopped, glancing up at Vincent and his sharp glare at her. "If that's all you came here to chant at her, its best you leave."

Inwardly, he rolled his eyes; Shelke tended to overanalyze things too often. Feeling Yuffie press herself against him, his grip tightening on her waist. She had seemed to be doing so well, but Shelke seemed intent to rehash over everything they already knew.

"Fine, I will get right to the point," Shelke said in a monotone voice, waving off Reeve as he tried to speak. "We want Yuffie to come with us to the WRO; we will protect her more efficiently."

"Protect me?" Yuffie said; her voice quiet. "That's _why_ I came for Vincent . . . he'd _never_ let me go."

_But he let you go back to Wutai all those years ago_, Shelke thought bitterly. If the gunslinger had told the ninja not to go – she obviously hadn't wanted too – none of this ever would have happened.

"Valentine will not be able to protect you as well as we can. He's one person Yuffie, how many people are in the Royal Guard and the Omni Gods? Even if we _had_ Chaos's power, he would be outnumbered – _**killed**_ even. They _will_ come for you, they'll _know_ you are here and they'll _kill_ anyone who gets in their way," Shelke shrugged. "But, if you want Valentine to die –"

Yuffie stiffened at Shelke's words, trying to fight down the shudders that wanted to wrack her thin frame. "No . . . no more _v-violence_."

"Enough of this Shelke," Vincent said, shifting Yuffie so she was leaning against his chest, both arms around her. "You're mind games aren't necessary."

"They are not mind games, it is reality. Do you really think Chekov will take it kindly and go home when you tell him Yuffie is remaining in your care? We will be able to protect her with our countless WRO agents and the Turks unit base has expanded."

"The Turks?" Yuffie said, a shiver escaping her control. "I don't want Reno anywhere near me . . ."

Shelke's eyebrows came together, this was getting nowhere. If she had to _force_ Valentine to let her go she'd do it. If the ninja wouldn't go, she might _have_ to be knocked out – she didn't want to do that latter, she got the vibe something like that _happened_ already . . .

"Yuffie, can I talk to you?" Shelke glared at Vincent. "Alone."

Yuffie was still as she thought it over, eventually nodding. Vincent sighed, letting go of the smaller girl, crimson eyes watching her. Shakily, Yuffie stood up – wincing as she put weight on her heavily bandaged foot – holding the blanket closer to her body as she followed Shelke.

"You still care about her," Reeve sighed as Shelke closed the living room doors.

Vincent's crimson eyes left the closed doors, glancing at Reeve. "I'm worried about her, that's _not_ the Yuffie we all remember . . ."

"What happened?"

Vincent shrugged, frowning as he leaned back. "She's only married as that was her father's dying wish – to see her married and carry on the Wutai tradition. It seems like she's been deflated, she was only beginning to open up to me."

Reeve raised an eyebrow. "Please tell me you haven't taken advantage of her state of mind."

Vincent sent a dark glare in the Commissioners direction. "I have not – and will not – _force_ myself upon her, I am _not_ her husband –"

"Vincent, you must see that Yuffie should come with us, she'll be better protected in Junon's base then in the Nibelheim Manor. Everyone is aware that there is a secret basement, you could not hide her away down here."

"She would not go if I asked her too," Vincent shook his head. "Now, if she goes with you to Junon . . ."

---

Shelke pushed open a door off of the foyer, ushering Yuffie inside. She frowned as she noticed it was only a small bathroom with only a sink and toilet. She watched as Yuffie's eyes immediately fell to the floor without the presence of Vincent, slumping down on the toilet's lid. Without the gunslinger in sight, the ninja seemed nothing more then an oppressed girl. She had to admit it, the gunslinger _made_ her look alive.

"What did Chekov do to you once married?"

". . ."

"I know enough about the Wutai Traditions, Miss. Kisaragi, I will ask until you tell me."

". . ." Yuffie glanced momentarily at Shelke before returning to picking at the start of a hole in her pajamas. "He did nothing to me."

"Oh, well then," Shelke said, opening the door. "Then there's nothing wrong at all – you're a very good actress then. We all thought you were in _trouble_," she allowed herself a small smile as her well crafted words made the ninja think. "But, since you're not, I suppose we'll all go home then. Nothing will happen when Chekov shows up –"

"Wait . . ."

Shelke smirked as she closed the door again; she had won over the ninja. "Okay, then please explain to me."

"On our wedding night – Chekov wished to start our life together. He wanted – no, maybe it was _demanding_ – that I give him a son. He didn't want me to be like my mother and have a girl; a woman can't rule the throne without a man. He wants his name to go down in our history books, unlike mine," – here, Shelke raised an eyebrow – "He says I won't be in the history books because I'm a female Kisaragi; the women are never mentioned in our history if you look closely. My mother was only written in that she gave birth, but was crossed out when I came out a female."

"Yuffie, what does this have to do with Chekov and your wedding night?"

"Nothing," Yuffie said, her fingers still picking idly at her pajama pants. "He wanted to start trying for a child – he had prayed to Leviathan to grant him a son. He figured Leviathan would pull through as Leviathan had granted him me for life. I – I didn't want to go through with it; I didn't love him, I _don't_ love him."

_You love Valentine_, Shelke thought, leaning against the wall, arms crossed over her chest.

She had a feeling she knew where Yuffie's words would end up.

"When I refused him, he hit me a couple times – he told me that since I was a woman, I had no say. After our wedding, my body _belongs_ to him; I have no say in what happens to it. I tried to fight him back, but with his strength from being an Omni God, without my weapon he _easily_ overpowered me. He – well, you know."

Shelke nodded, frowning. "He _raped_ you."

"It's not called that," Yuffie mumbled. "We were _**married**_."

"It doesn't matter," Shelke cut her off, glaring at her. "It's still the same concept either way."

Yuffie shook her head. "You don't understand . . ."

"Make me understand then, Kisaragi," Shelke commented, her anger taking over her slightly. "Tell me what else happened to you, what else he has done to you. Are you hiding a pregnancy underneath that blanket – do you _already_ know, it's a girl? Are you –"

"I'm not pregnant," Yuffie said, standing up. Shelke raised an eyebrow at her, contradicting her. "I'm not . . ."

"Are you not?" Shelke glanced pointedly at the large blanket.

Yuffie sighed, shifting underneath the blanket, the front end falling open. She shivered as the cool air of the bathroom rushed in the newly open space, making quick work of chilling through her too thin pajama top. Shelke glanced at the ninja, noticing the ninja's stomach was still flat. "Why do you wear that?" she asked, the ninja pulling the heavy blanket back around her.

"Vincent gave it to me . . ." _It smells like him_, she thought.

Shelke nodded. "Now that we've figured out _what's_ happening to you; we can help you. Does Vincent know?"

Yuffie shook her head. "No _don't_ tell him. He won't want me here anymore. But it's not just Chekov . . . when he gets angry," Shelke had to strain to hear the ninja, her voice almost inaudiable. "When he's _really_ angry, he'll allow other people too . . ."

Shelke narrowed her eyes, her mind whirling. It was no wonder the ninja didn't want to leave Vincent's side. If and _when_ the gunslinger finds out the ninja's trauma that her husband offers her to other men . . . she'd feel _pity_ for Chekov – Vincent would tear him to shreds.

"This is why we want you to come to the WRO's base in Junon, we will be able to protect. Don't you _see_ it? If you stay here, sure Vincent will protect you but he will not win against everyone from the Wutai Empire. You can imagine Chekov's rage, imagine him seeing you here **alone** with another man – he might just _take_ you right here."

"Stop it," Yuffie moaned, dropping her head. "I understand. I'm going to the WRO . . . it'll take Vincent out of the equation, right?"

Shelke merely nodded, inwardly smiling, glad that Yuffie was _finally_ seeing the situation's problem. "We will have to leave this morning – immediately – it won't take long for Chekov to make his way here."

"He won't know . . ."

"Did you ever talk about Vincent in Wutai? You followed him everywhere during the Omega Incident – it won't take him long to figure it out, he _might_ already be on his way here."

Yuffie tensed at Shelke's words. She did talk about Vincent a lot: when her father wanted her to marry, she thought he meant Vincent, then blurting out, asking them if she believed she already had sex with Vincent. She rolled her eyes, damn her big mouth – the perfect woman would have simply bit down on her comments, smiling seductively.

"Perhaps a couple times . . ."

Shelke nodded, opening up the bathroom door, ushering the blanketed ninja out. Yuffie sighed, following Shelke out and towards the living room; the white doors open a bit. "Reeve, Vincent, we've come to a conclusion," Shelke said, all business like. "Yuffie has agreed to come with us to Junon – we should leave immediately."

Reeve nodded, surprise written across his features. "She did?"

Vincent glanced from Shelke to the girl behind her, eyes on the floor. "Yuffie, do you want to go?"

Slowly, Yuffie shook her head. Vincent raised an eyebrow, why was she going then? "If I go, we – you, you'll be safer with me gone."

"We _will_ take care of her," Shelke promised. "You know us Vincent; we take care of our own."

Vincent nodded, his eyes not leaving Yuffie's frame. "I wish to talk to Yuffie before she leaves."

Shelke nodded, knowing the gunslinger would want to talk with her. Reeve sighed, pushing himself out of his chair, following after Shelke. "Hurry though."

Hearing the door close behind them, Vincent sighed as Yuffie stopped before him, eyes on the ground. "Yuffie, why did you change your mind?"

Yuffie blinked, her storm grey eyes looking up, holding Vincent's gaze as he brought her to him, his arms tight around her.

"Will you come visit me?" she whispered, sidestepping his question.

Vincent allowed a small smile at her words. "You know I'll stop by," he heard Yuffie sigh as she fumbled with her blanket, her small hands coming out. He felt her tentatively bring her hands around him, gripping his cloak with all her might. "You know Reeve asked me to return to the WRO as well."

". . . what?" she eventually asked.

"You probably wouldn't know, I doubt you weren't allowed to look at the news of the world," – how right he was, Chekov watched her every move with vigor – "But, I was the Guns Specialist of the WRO, training the new Turks. If you're going to be there as well, perhaps it is time I returned. Reeve has been wishing for that –"

"You'd that for me?"

Vincent shook his head, resting his chin atop her head. "Need you even ask?" She shook her head slightly. He _hadn't_ changed at all, still the same gunslinger she partnered up with always. "Come on, let's go, you'll need some things to take with you."

Yuffie nodded, slowly dropping her arms, frowning as Vincent's arms dropped from her. Unwrapping the blanket wrapped tightly around her body, Yuffie nodded, placing it back on the couch before reaching for his hand, intertwining her fingers with his. "I always _knew_ you'd help me . . . that's – that's why I _**always**_ loved you."

---

A/N: Lyrics are self explanitory, Yuffie wants to get back with Vincent - as you can tell by the last line here.

But yes . . . Yuffie _still_ has feelings for Vincent . . . this is going to be an interesting ride. Again.


	6. 06: Complications

Vincent froze at Yuffie's words, had the ninja just said what he thought? He cast his crimson eyes down at her, her storm grey ones looking unwaveringly back at him. Feeling his gaze on her, Yuffie just smiled at the gunslinger, fidgeting slightly underneath his gaze. Yuffie tightened her grip on his fingers, trying to remind him that they had to hurry.

She sighed; she _should_ have known the answer.

The sudden silence, the sharp glance at her, holding her gaze, it shouldn't have been a surprise. He _still_ loved Lucrecia, like hell she could compare to the deceased scientist.

"Well, come on, Vince. I don't need Shelke breathing down my neck again," she joked, starting forward, her hand still in his.

"Yuffie . . ."

Yuffie paused, blinking a couple times as she looked back at him. "I – I know your answer Vincent, you still have feelings for Lucrecia."

Vincent sighed, holding the ninja's gaze. The ninja was right _but_ not exactly. "That's –"

Yuffie sighed, shaking her head. "It's alright, just, just forget about it, alright?"

_Please don't_, her mind screamed.

She didn't like the sudden tension between the two of them.

She heard Vincent sigh, the gunslinger taking his hand away from hers, disappearing underneath his cloak. "You don't want to though; I can see the panic in your eyes."

Yuffie had to smile; he _always_ managed to read her like a book. "Okay . . . but your friendship is more important to me – I love you enough to say that, don't you understand?"

Vincent closed his eyes, breaking eye contact with the girl. "You're _married_ Yuffie . . . we, I can't, not again"

Yuffie shook her head rapidly; she didn't want to hear that. Before the gunslinger could respond, Yuffie reached forward, grabbing the hand he'd hidden beneath his cloak. "Don't compare me to Lucrecia and Hojo, please don't Vincent."

"Yuffie . . ."

She was over exerting herself again.

"No." she said, dropping his hand as she shook her head. "Don't say it; _don't_ tell me I'm like Lucrecia . . ."

"We'll discuss it _later_," Vincent said after a moment's silence, crimson eyes meeting storm grey. "We don't have time right now."

"I know," Yuffie mumbled, frowning as Vincent placed his hand on her back, leading her out of the living room. "But, I'm _not_ like Lucrecia, it's not the same . . . I _**don't**_ love him."

Vincent didn't say anything as he closed the sliding living room doors, Yuffie starting slowly, her footsteps heavy, up the stairs. He watched her go, shaking his head, aware of Shelke's eyes staring intently at him and Yuffie. Shelke sighed, glancing momentarily at Vincent to the ninja halfway up the stairs, glancing over her shoulder at the gunslinger. She had tried not to listen to their conversation, but Yuffie _never_ was one to talk quietly. She shook her head, moving away from the window she was looking blankly out to stand behind Vincent.

"You're taking the wrong side here, Vincent. She is _right_, she's not Lucrecia – no matter what her situation is." She added with a dark glare at him.

Vincent sighed, looking down at the shorter brunette as he heard Yuffie's bedroom door close. "That might be, but . . ."

"No," Shelke narrowed her eyes. The effect was sadly lacking to her height. "She might be married, yes. But did she choose it? No, her _father_ did, and she only _stayed_ there because her father played a guilt trip before he died! It's **not** the same thing," Shelke hissed, poking him roughly in the chest, now on eye level with him as she stood on the stairwell.

"She's _married_, I . . ."

"Enough of that, Vincent," Reeve said from across the room. "Yuffie came to _you_ for help, not Tifa, not us – _**you**_. Doesn't that say anything to you, she _likes_ you."

"I know . . ." Vincent frowned, leaning against the banister.

"_Valentine_, if you honestly say you don't love her, I'll kill you when you come back to Junon," Shelke muttered darkly, glaring at Vincent as she moved away, towards the large foyer windows.

She rolled her eyes; and people said _girls_ were confusing . . .

Glancing at the reflection of the gunslinger in the window, Shelke let out a sigh, her breath catching a moment later. With her enhanced eyesight and hearing, it didn't take her long to pinpoint the problem. "I'll be right back," she mumbled, pushing herself away from the window, moving swiftly towards the front door. "Vincent, get Yuffie ready – she's leaving the _second_ I get back –"

"What? What's going on, Shelke?" Reeve asked, confusion written across his face at her sudden movements.

Shelke shook her head as she threw the door open. "Don't ask questions – just _do_ it," and with that, she was gone, the door closing behind her.

---

Yuffie sighed, leaning against her bedroom door. She had to smirk – how _ironic_, she was no different then Lucrecia now . . . no wonder Vincent was _so_ strange around her.

"I hate this," she commented, moving into the room, her worn old bag resting on the top of the dresser. "Wutai's ruined _everything_!"

She flung the bag onto her back, pausing when she saw herself in the dresser mirror. Frowning at herself, she brought a hand up, pushing her bangs back and out of her storm grey eyes. She shook her head, it didn't really matter – she _didn't _look any different. Mumbling incoherently to herself, Yuffie stalked away from the mirror, slamming the bedroom door shut behind her.

"What's she doing out there?"

Yuffie paused on the top stair, listening to the two men downstairs – of _course_ they'd have to talk about her – everyone did . . .

She saw Reeve shrug. "Shelke's never one to explain anything till it's over."

Yuffie raised an eyebrow, noticing the brunette was missing. She rolled her eyes; she _never_ had paid much attention to the ex-Tsviet. Pushing away from the wall, Yuffie started down the stairwell, the old stairwell creaking underneath her weight. "Where _is_ Shelke?"

"Yuffie," Vincent said, turning around to see the ninja. "You ready?"

Yuffie nodded, coming to a stop beside Vincent, her hand grabbing his. "Yeah . . ."

"Good," Shelke's sharp voice cut in, closing the door behind her. "We – you're leaving."

Yuffie jumped, blinking at Shelke, the younger girl looking angry. Reeve raised an eyebrow, as Shelke crossed her arms over her chest, shaking off Reeve as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What's up _now_?" Vincent growled, pulling Yuffie closer to him.

Shelke glared momentarily at Vincent before her Mako eyes locked onto Yuffie. "It doesn't concern you, Vincent, the less you know, the better. Kisaragi, we're going."

Yuffie blinked as Shelke's speed brought her closer to the ninja, grabbing her free hand. Yuffie glared at her, refusing to budge as Shelke pulled on her. "I'm _not_ leaving till you tell us what's happening!"

Shelke let out a groan, glaring heatedly at Yuffie, before dropping her hand. "Fine, _Lord_ Chekov is on his way here, he's already in Nibelheim. Listen – do you still hear that _incessant_ party going on? No. He'd here, he _knows_ you're here – you're leaving; **now**." Frozen because of the news, Shelke let out a small smirk as she grasped Yuffie's hand, pulling her away from the gunslinger's limp grasp. "She'll _call_ you, Valentine, honestly."

Shelke moved quickly across the foyer floor, grumbling that the ninja was going too slow; obviously she didn't work on her ninja skills much. She threw the door open, shoving the ninja into the hallway. "Just _keep_ them busy, I'll be back," and with that, Shelke slammed the door shut.

"How'd you know all that, Shelke?" Yuffie asked, twisting around to see Shelke as she was shoved roughly down the hallway, the terrace doors before them.

"Deepground Training," Shelke shrugged, opening the glass Terrace doors onto the dark night. "I take it you remember how to get to Costa del Sol?"

"_Costa del Sol_?" Yuffie huffed, glaring at Shelke the brunette dropping her hands to her sides. "Why are we _going_ there? There's hardly anything there!"

"Obviously, you don't watch much television," Shelke mumbled. "Costa del Sol's grown, takes up much of the plains – you'll see it when you get there. But, that's besides the point – just head to that old beach house you all bought _years_ ago –"

"Why?" Yuffie grumbled, not understanding any of Shelke's confused thoughts as she followed the brunette to a small shack in the back. "Why _there_?"

"It is winter – Christmas, Cost del Sol's in the middle of everyone. They all meet there to celebrate. Go there, get everyone and tell them to head to the Junon base. We'll all meet you there; no doubt Chekov will try to track us after tonight, no sense leading him to Costa del Sol."

"What? Wait – _**we**_? I'm going alone?"

Shelke nodded, unlocking the wooden door, shhing whatever was inside as she grasped brown reins before leading out a blue coloured Chocobo. "Of course you're going alone – everyone in town saw me, stupid Reeve – it'd be too obvious if I wasn't here as well. Besides, Reeve and I just came to visit Vincent," Shelke winked at Yuffie as she shoved the reins into the ninja's chest. "You're still in Wutai for all we know."

"It won't work," Yuffie said, tapping her foot in annoyance. "He's not _that_ stupid – unfortunately."

"Like that matters," Shelke rolled her eyes, motioning with her hand to get Yuffie on the Chocobo. "We wouldn't have brought the _entire_ Wutai force, Royal Guard, whatever you want to call it, with him, correct? Somehow, Vincent, Reeve and I will be fine; besides, two of us probably _can't_ die."

Yuffie had to laugh at that last comment. Shelke smiled as she got the ninja to laugh, but all too soon she froze in place – her enhanced hearing picking up the sounds from within the house. Narrowing her eyes, she whipped around, Mako blue eyes meeting storm grey. "Chekov has arrived – get on the _damn_ bird already!"

Yuffie jumped, biting down on her bottom lip before nodding slowly, moving to climb aboard the bird. "Now, what are you supposed to do?" Shelke droned, her face going blank.

"Costa del Sol, Junon, Wait." Yuffie said quickly, forcing down the urge to roll her eyes – Shelke _always_ overanalyzed everything.

Shelke nodded, turning her back on Yuffie. "Goodbye – move quickly and _stay_ **away** from town limits," she called over her shoulder, throwing her hand up as a goodbye.

Yuffie suppressed a laugh at the other girls' farewell, turning her eyes back to the blue Chocobo who let out a wark as the terrace doors closed behind Shelke. "I suppose it's time for us to leave . . ." Yuffie trailed off, casting one last glance back at the lit up mansion before flicking the reins. The Chocobo warked, its beady eyes looking at the ninja before slowly moving forward – the Nibel mountains before them.

---

Shelke let out a groan as she quietly closed the terrace doors behind her. Not only was Yuffie horrible at keeping quiet, but the girl had horrible timing as well. No doubt, if Chekov was in the mansion yet, he would have heard the Chocobo wark. She shook her head as she made her way down the hallway, listening intently for what was happening on the other side of the wall in the foyer. She could hear Vincent's deep voice and Reeve had slipped back into his Commander tone . . .

_No_ doubt Chekov was here . . .

Pausing behind the foyer door, Shelke took a deep breath, needing to compose herself. Closing her eyes, she tried to rearrange her features into a monotone blank look. Nodding to herself, she reached forward, turning the knob, pushing the wooden door open.

"Vincent . . . I don't think Starlight likes me very much – she kept running away!" Shelke huffed, closing the door behind her. "I swear, you better not make me feed _your_ bird again – jeez!"

_Did that sound right_? She thought to herself, she never was good at lying.

Vincent raised an eyebrow at Shelke who glared hauntingly at him. "Who's that?" she added, inclining her head toward the men at the front door. "Are you inviting _more_ people? Tifa's going to kill you, you know? We were just supposed to pick you up and leave and –"

"Shelke Rui . . ."

Shelke glared over at Chekov – had he seen through her? She just blinked, trying not to smirk at him. "Huh? Oh! Wutai's ruler – how's Yuffie doing?"

Vincent shot a warning glare at her while Reeve just shook his head. Shelke swore at them in her head, they were _ruining_ it! She was just trying to buy some time.

"_Yuffie_?" Chekov continued, a smirk coming to his features. His dark eyes held Shelke's as he crossed his arms over his chest, slowly moving towards her. "I suppose you would _know_ more then I would, correct?"

Shelke raised an eyebrow. "Sure, I know more about the Omega Incident . . . about her friends . . ."

"How about _Wutai's_ _Database_? Know anything about that?"

Shelke blanked, she got _caught_? She _**never**_ got detected . . . "I'm hardly Wutainese," she scoffed, waving the comment aside.

"I highly doubt that matters with your . . . _techniques_ . . ."

Shelke narrowed her eyes – he knew more then he let on as well. "Shelke hasn't been doing that for a long time now," Reeve spoke up. Shelke shot him a look, grateful for the interruption. "After the Omega Incident, there was no need for her to continue."

Chekov shot a glare over at Reeve, smirking at the Commander. "Then, pray tell, why did we receive a signal coming from Junon this morning?"

Was it just her or was it getting hot in here? Shelke wanted to curse herself, she had been _careless_ in her haste – she'd never hear the end of it, especially if Yuffie was to find out about it. She caught sight of Vincent behind Chekov, the gunslinger glaring darkly at Chekov shooting the Tsviet a glance every once and a while. She fought down the urge to roll her eyes, she was going to hear it from Vincent afterwards . . .

"Junon is famous for its underground," Shelke broke in, her voice monotone. "It could have been anyone –"

"If you have _that_ many _**hackers**_ perhaps you should do something about it?"

"There are at least seven thousand people in Junon, it would take too long to find the right _hacker_."

"You should take more pride in your city then," Chekov commented idly, holding Shelke's defiant gaze. "But, that's not why I'm here, I am _here_ for Yuffie."

Shelke snorted. "She should be in Wutai, unless . . . you lost her?"

"She _ran_ away, stupid girl," Shelke could see Vincent tense up, his hand moving into a fist as Chekov spoke. "She _would_ have come here, she _always_ used to talk about you – especially him."

Shelke didn't miss the dark glare he sent at Vincent, his dark eyes assessing the gunslinger. "If Yuffie was here, you'd _hear_ her, but we haven't seen her for three years –"

"The Tsviet, the Turk and the WRO Commander, you could have hidden her."

Shelke rolled her eyes, drawing herself up to her full height as she moved to approach him. "Kisaragi is not here, she hasn't been seen for three years, _everyone_ believes she's dead – you're not fooling us. Now, if you excuse us, this _is_ the busy time of the season and we're running late. Since you weren't invited to Mideel as well, you must leave now."

Chekov glared at Shelke, brushing her hands away as she tried to push him towards the door. "I _know_ that you've seen Yuffie – she would have no where else to go."

"That's nice, we'll call you when we see her," Shelke said, shrugging nonchalant as she pushed past him to open the door. "Now, if you excuse us, we're in a hurry."

Chekov nodded stiffly, moving to the door, motioning for his entourage to follow behind him. "This _isn't_ the end though – she'll show up here."

"Uh huh, sure," Shelke said, closing the door on him as soon as he was out the door.

Shelke sighed as she leaned heavily against the wall, closing her eyes momentarily before opening them to glare at the two men. "You guys are _horrible_ actors, you know? You both almost blew it! Now, come on, we're going to Junon."

"Junon?" Reeve echoed. "Where's Yuffie?"

"Yuffie took Starlight, I sent her to Costa del Sol to find Tifa and the others. They're all going to meet us in Junon – we _can't_ have Chekov going to Costa del Sol, that's why _he's_ heading to Mideel – Tifa's got a summer house there –"

"The one in Costa del Sol's under her name too –"

"No it isn't," Shelke commented, glancing back at him. "That's under my name, bought it from her a couple years ago. But, we're heading to Junon, this holiday's going to be so _messed up_, isn't it?"

Reeve nodded, shaking his head. "No different then any other year, right?"

Shelke sighed, nodding as she wrapped a scarf around her neck before shrugging into a windbreaker. "Come on, or else they're all going to get there first," Shelke paused, locking eyes with Vincent and winking at him. "Don't worry, you'll see Kisaragi soon enough."

Vincent nodded slowly, following Shelke out the door, locking up the old mansion. As he did so, Chekov's last words kept running through his mind: _This isn't the end though – she'll show up here_.

He was smarter then he looked, this might not be as easy as they thought.

---

a/N: Finally updated!  
This one was hard to write, too many writers blocks!  
Well, not very exciting this time around, but that'll be soon . . .


	7. 07: Hello Again

Yuffie sighed, leaning against Starlight's neck. Her storm grey eyes narrowed as she glanced around the empty plains, the darkness of the night disappearing. The sun would be rising soon, just her luck. Yuffie frowned, glancing out at the water, the horizon starting to turn a light yellow-orange colour. She shook her head, digging her heels into the Chocobo's side – she _didn't_ have time to stand around and look at the sunrise.

That was the last thing she needed, to be _seen_.

_"You listen to me," Shelke said, opening the latch on the Chocobo stall behind the manor. "You've got _all_ night, you better be in Costa del Sol by sunrise, Kisaragi."_

_Yuffie nodded, following the Tsviet into the small stall, the straw crackling underneath their feet. "It can't be that hard."_

_Costa del Sol__ wasn't that far away . . . right? She ran a hand through her black hair; it was just on the **other** side of the Continent. She had to roll her eyes, just her luck!_

_"Not that far, but you're the one riding a Chocobo who doesn't know you," Shelke grunted, trying to lure Starlight from the stall, the Chocobo warking and flapping its tiny wings in annoyance. "Be wary of Cosmo Canyon though."_

_"Cosmo Canyon?" Yuffie echoed, reaching a hand out to pat Starlight, frowning when the Chocobo pecked her. "What're they going to do? Look at me through a telescope?"_

_"Don't make a joke out of it," Shelke sharply commented. "Although Cosmo Canyon hasn't expanded, tonight is the night everyone will be looking through their telescopes for some anomaly that appears once in a blue moon or some rhyme, Red was speaking of it a couple weeks ago."_

_Yuffie nodded, taking the reins from Shelke. "Right, right, stay low around the Cosmo Canyon. I walked the entire Planet Shelke, I know my way around."_

_"You should," Shelke smiled, shaking her head. "See you in Junon – don't be late."_

_Yuffie nodded, digging her heels in Starlight's side. The Chocobo warked in annoyance again, its beady eyes turning around to look at Yuffie, the ninja moving her fingers out of range. _

Passing the Cosmo Canyon was easier then Shelke made it seem. Although she had no idea what the people in the Canyon were looking for at this time of year, it was safe to assume whatever it was was probably in the sky. But to be on the safe side, she had made (since Starlight had the ability to do it) her way through the shallow water successfully avoiding sight.

Yuffie had rolled her eyes, Shelke thought she _knew **everything**_.

"Stop," Shelke whispered, tapping Starlight's side lightly.

The Chocobo glanced back at her, as it came to a sudden stop, almost pitching the surprised ninja from her perch. Yuffie sighed, shaking her head as she slipped down from the Chocobo's back. "I suppose you still don't like me, huh? Well, blame Vincent for that, it was his idea," Yuffie nodded, fixing the bird with her stare. "Head back to Nibelheim."

With a wave at the Chocobo, who warked at her with its head tilted before it turned around heading away from the ninja and the still sleeping beach town.

Yuffie sighed, turning to glance at the usually sunny and loud town. "I wonder if they'll all be here . . ." she mused, starting forward.

_The town hasn't changed_, she thought idly as she glanced around the town.

Everything was still bleached out in colour by the sun, the lights of the town starting to dim, the only lights coming from the hotel on the corner. Yuffie had to smile as her storm grey eyes located the old lemonade stand she had worked at – she used to wonder if that old guy had ever noticed she managed to steal all his materia . . . he'd been so _jaded_ by her looks.

Well, that's what she thought anyway.

Yuffie sighed, running her gloved hand up the stone railing as her footsteps sounded against the stone stairwell. She came to a stop at the top of the stairwell, the familiar bright yellow door feet in front of her. She took a deep breath – it was the beach house they had bought and celebrated the defeat of Meteorfall here. A smile graced Yuffie's lips – that had been a fun time.

"Too bad we can't go back to that," she mumbled.

If she had known how things would turn out, she wouldn't have gone back to Wutai at all.

She could have remained at the WRO Junon headquarters with Reeve and Shelke; she _was_ a WRO agent anyway.

Or, dare she dream, had managed to convince Vincent to let her stay in the Nibelheim Manor with him – it _was_ too big for one person anyway.

Yuffie shrugged, shaking her head. _What ifs_ wouldn't get her anywhere now. Taking a deep breath, Yuffie raised her fist to the bright yellow door, knocking loudly on the wood.

--

"When do you think Reeve and Shelke'll show up?" Tifa asked, swinging her legs back and forth as she sat atop the kitchen counter.

They _really_ needed to get some extra chairs in the unused beach house . . . their group just seemed to keep growing.

"Who knows," Cid shrugged from the table, frowning at Shera who held his cigarette pack away from him. "They're always running late, you should _know_ that."

Tifa frowned, leaning back on her palms. "Yeah, I know, but what could be happening on _Christmas_? Seriously . . ."

Marlene yawned as she slumped against the table. "Maybe they're getting Vincent."

"Vincent?" Tifa commented, raising an eyebrow as she looked at the almost teenage girl. "There's someone we haven't seen for a while . . . how long to do you think, Cloud?"

Cloud shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "At least a couple years, he did go on leave from the WRO a couple years ago."

Tifa rolled her eyes. "He needs to get out of that manor of his; Yuffie's not coming back."

_Knock, Knock_.

"Shelke's here," Marlene called in a singsong voice, jumping up from the table instantly awake. "About time too!"

"Marlene, come back here," Tifa called, jumping down from the table after the brunette. "She _never_ listens!"

Barret laughed, shaking his head as the knocks came again. "Teenager's_ never_ listen, the brat never did either."

". . . Wasn't Wutai on the news last night?" Shera said eventually, breaking through the men's laughter.

"I'm not sure," Tifa frowned, heading towards the hallway. "Weren't we all traveling yesterday?"

Tifa shook her head, as she started down the hallway after Marlene, the voices in the kitchen becoming nearly mute as the door swung shut. Marlene hummed lightly to herself as she made her way down the hallway, bopping her head to the beat inside her head. She let out a sigh as she heard the kitchen door open, knowing Tifa was following her down the hallway.

"I'm almost thirteen," she grumbled under her breath, forcing down the urge to roll her eyes. "I _think_ I can handle opening a door."

_Besides, Tifa left me in charge of the bar when we lived in Midgar,_ Marlene thought to herself as she came to a stop in front of the door. She'd _never_ understand adults!

Rocking back on her heels, Marlene reached out for the handle and swung the door open. The sun rising, Marlene had to squint her cerulean blue eyes as she brought a hand to her eyes. As she glanced up at the tanned – or was she oriental? – woman stood in the doorway, her greeting died on her lips, her mouth opening in shock.

"Good morning, Marlene."

Marlene just looked at the oriental woman, her eyes screwing up in concentration. Her midnight black hair might have been darker, but it _still_ looked like her. It was those determined storm grey eyes, but without that ever present smirk on her face it was hard to tell for sure . . .

"It _can't_ be . . ."

"Who is it Marlene?"

Marlene blinked, tearing her eyes away from the woman to Tifa, now a couple feet away from her. Before she could answer the bartender, the oriental woman in the doorway looked over the brunette teenager. "Tifa!"

When Yuffie had heard the familiar voice she felt her heart leap, beating against her chest like it had when she saw Vincent. Before she could help herself, she had leaned over the teenager, her storm grey eyes widening as she saw her. Tifa hadn't changed much since she had last seen her – her long hair had been pulled back into a ponytail and clad in a tight fitting black shirt and a pair of jeans – Yuffie couldn't help herself. She pushed her way past Marlene, launching herself at the martial artist.

Tifa's eyes widened as the girl launched herself at her, subconsciously placing her arms around the girl. Blinking, she glanced down at the girl, frowning as she took in her look. ". . . _Yuffie_?"

Yuffie nodded, pushing herself away from Tifa. Clasping her hands behind her back as she rocked back on her heels – _classic Yuffie_ they used to tell her – she smiled at the surprised bartender. She noticed she seemed to be smiling a lot more lately.

"Hey Tifa, _I'm here_." The name sounded weird on her tongue.

Tifa just blinked at her a couple times before she grinned widely, finding her voice again. "Yuffie . . . no way! Guys," she hollered in her direction of the kitchen. "Yuffie's here."

She could hear the snort of laughter from the kitchen, followed by Barret's booming voice. "You're not foolin' us, Teef. You _know_ Yuffie died."

Yuffie frowned, crossing her arms over her chest before dropping them to her side, balling them up into fists. Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes as she stalked past Tifa and headed down the hallway. She'd show them . . . she _had_ to see his face. Yuffie's steps slowed as she reached the swinging kitchen doors, taking a deep breath as she paused outside it.

After _all_ these years . . .

She jumped as she felt Tifa come up behind her, laying her hand on the ninja's shoulder. "It's alright, Yuffie."

Yuffie smiled up at her and nodded. Turning her attention back to the door, she took a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, pushed the door open.

Figuring it was Tifa and Marlene coming back through the door – the steps were too _silent_ for Yuffie – they all glanced towards the door, their jaws dropping when the door opened. Clad in clothes too big for her, her hair longer then they remembered, fidgeting under all their gazes was Yuffie. Barret blinked, dark eyes scrutinizing the oriental girl, Cid stared in surprise at her – not even noticing Shera take the cigarette from his mouth, while Cloud didn't say anything, glancing at the forgotten ninja.

Tifa frowned, glaring at the three men in turn. She shook her head, placing a hand on her hip as she coughed to break the awkward silence. "Look who showed up! It's been too long, huh?"

Yuffie nodded again, rocking back on her heels, wishing she could disappear. This was _too_ much . . .

"Er . . . hey Yuffie," Cloud said awkward, Mako blue eyes holding her gaze. "Wutai must be pretty busy then, it's been a while."

"Yes, yes, come sit," Shera said, pulling out the empty chair beside her, padding the chair in encouragement. "We've got _lots_ to talk about!"

Yuffie smiled – Shera _hadn't_ changed at all. The scientist never seemed to change, even after all these years. However, she shook her head at the invitation. "I can't stay – I _have_ to get to Junon."

Barret rolled his eyes, placing his chin in his palm. "Well, nice of you to stop by brat."

Yuffie glared at him and sighed. "I knew I should have brought them," she mumbled to herself, inwardly cursing Shelke for sending her here. "We're all supposed to go to Junon –"

"_Junon_?" Barret cut her off. "Why would we go there? Do you even _know_ what time of year it is?"

Yuffie met his glance with a glare, crossing her arms over her chest as she tapped her foot in annoyance. "_Of course_ I know what time of year it is – but that's what Shelke and Reeve suggested I tell you. We're supposed to meet them and Vincent there."

"Wait? You've already seen Vincent?" Tifa cut in, surprised.

"I _always_ knew she liked him," Marlene muttered, smirking at Shera as she dropped into the empty chair. "I guess she still does . . ."

Yuffie glanced at Marlene – she held back a smirk, the girl was more perspective then she thought – before nodding at Tifa. "Vincent was the first one I saw – I _knew_ he could help me. However, since the cards are usually stacked against me; Shelke and Reeve would appear followed very shortly by the appearance of _Lord_ Chekov and the Wutai Royal Guard."

"The Royal Guard?" Tifa echoed in surprise. "Are you . . . no way . . . are you the _Queen_ now?"

Yuffie nodded, frowning. "Yes, I suppose you could call it that," she shrugged, her voice nonchalant. "However, Chekov seemed to do as he pleased – as you can see from the newscasts, I _disappeared_ off the face of the Planet; most believe I am dead," – here, she glared at Barret – "And, it seems the Planet believes it."

Tifa frowned, leaning against the doorframe. "You've changed Yuffie – you don't seem yourself."

Yuffie smiled – Tifa never missed a beat. "Things change you know, I'm not a teenager anymore."

Tifa shrugged. "That may be . . . but, why now? I wonder why we're all supposed to go to Junon now? I mean its Christmas . . ."

Yuffie bit back a smirk. "There's a war on the horizon . . ."

"A war?" Cid broke in, eyebrows raised. "What's it about this time? How many more ShinRa experiments _are_ left?"

"It's not against ShinRa," Yuffie said, turning around to hold the pilots gaze. "It is against **Wutai** and the _entire_ Wutai population . . ."

--

I know, long time no update!  
What with work and Crisis Core having come out and the _infamous_ writers block . . . RaiLei's busy busy!


	8. 08: Meetings

_No more pain (no more pain)  
No more game (no more game messin with my mind)  
No drama (no more drama in my life)  
Nooone's gonna make me hurt again  
No more tears (no more tears, I'm tired of cryin everynight)  
No more fears (no more fears, I really don't wanna cry)  
No drama (no more drama in my life)  
I don't ever wanna hurt again  
Wanna speak my mind, wanna speak my mind_

_No More Drama -- Mary J. Blige_

---

Storm grey eyes stared blankly out the back window of Barret's WRO vehicle as the scenery raced past them, the water rushing below them. In the years she had been gone, a bridge had been constructed between Costa del Sol and Junon. Tifa had mentioned that a lot of people seemed to take the bridge now; the ships now being used for only cargo and sightseeing trips. Airships were still popular – as Cid had loudly told her – before he started his complains that the Sierra would be faster then an old van.

Tifa rolled her eyes, peering over her sunglasses into the back of the van. "We get it Cid, an airship is faster. But, we're less noticeable this way."

Cid snorted, reaching into his coat pocket for his cigarette lighter. "Who cares? We can take some stupid _army_."

Barret glared in his rearview mirror as Cid found his lighter, the device sparking to life. "Put that out, Highwind," Barret barked, the van slowing down. "My baby's in the –"

"I'm not a baby!" Marlene yelled; her voice cold as she spoke. "I'm thirteen – 'sides, _Denzel_ smokes . . ."

"That's the last time you hang out with him – you're _not_ dying."

Marlene huffed, glaring daggers at her father, crossing her arms over her chest. "You can't stop me, he's my friend!" She wasn't going to tell him that he wasn't her _real_ father; Barret didn't need to know that she knew. "Besides, you did _worse_ stuff then me – you can't lecture me."

Barret snorted. "I'm your father, I can lecture you all I want – you're not doing the same thing I did."

Marlene flopped back heavily into her chair, glaring at her father one last time before staring out her window. Yuffie smiled slightly at Marlene's actions, she was getting rebellious now. How like her back then . . . what had happened to her?

She wasn't afraid of **anything**.

She was the one who had gone with Cloud to investigate the coffin in Nibelheim . . .

Excluding Aeris, she was the first one who made Vincent open up to her, connected with him . . .

She defeated the Pagoda; Chekov, her father – she beat them all.

She was a JENOVA War Hero and a member of the WRO.

She defeated Sephiroth and JENOVA, Kadaj and his brother and had been a major player during the Omega Incident.

Then . . . then her father made his dying wish for her to restore Wutai and _marry_ Chekov.

Stupidly – how _stupid_ was she? – she had agreed to Godo's request because she didn't want to see more death.

Staring out the window, the bridge's end in sight, the large metropolis of Junon stretched out across the ocean. Vincent was going to be there. She tried to force down a smile – and failed – even after all these years, her well-know crush of Vincent seemed to be resurfacing . . . not that it _ever_ really went away – she just hid it well.

"Yuffie – you look so deep in thought."

At the sound of Tifa's voice, Yuffie jumped out of her thoughts, storm grey meeting brown. She shook her head, allowing a brief smile to appear on her face.

"It's nothing; I can almost see Junon now."

Tifa nodded slowly, her eyes searching Yuffie's. "You're thinking about Vincent, aren't you?"

Yuffie fought down a blush, stuttering as she tried to think of a response. "Well yeah . . . I mean, Chekov was there when I –"

"Yuffie, its _Vincent_ –"

"– and _Shelke_, she don't know when to die either," Barret interjected.

Tifa shrugged. "Yeah, I can't see her letting _anyone_ walk over her either – so they'll be fine, you know that, Yuffie. You traveled with them both, you would know more then we do."

Yuffie nodded. "I'm not going to run anymore."

"Hmm?" Tifa looked up, her thoughts on a different page. "You're not going to – _that's_ great!"

"'bout time," Barret grumbled, the bridge turning into gravel, the van bouncing up and down from the gravel and bumpy grass below. Some things never change. "Brats not half as interesting depressed."

Yuffie glared at him from the backseat. "Feh, you're not interesting any time."

"Looks like she's got her spark back," Marlene said, with a grin, winking in the ninja's direction. "Finally, someone _appropriate_ to hang out with."

No one missed the air quotations around her comment or the glare she sent in her father's direction. Barret returned her glare through the rearview mirror as the van slowed down, the grime of lower Junon circling them. "You just better not teach her to be like _you_," Barret grumbled, glancing over at Yuffie, the ninja staring out the window at the industrial city.

Yuffie shrugged. "I never make any promises."

---

Shelke sighed, drumming her fingers against the long table in front of her. Her Mako eyes looked around the small conference room, the window behind her lighting up the white walls. She frowned, the light was blinding and it had started to snow again. She'd had enough of the snow, having spent a majority of the summer investigating the Northern Cavern – everything had been silent for too long.

How ironic that was – it was going to get _loud_ in a hurry. Especially when Chekov realizes she sent them in the wrong direction completely. Not that she cared – Wutai was . . . well, it was Wutai.

Yuffie would kill her if she knew she thought that.

"They'll be here soon, Vincent. Stop pacing," Shelke commented, leveling him with a stare. "You should know they won't go down that fast."

Vincent didn't say anything, coming to a stop behind Shelke' seat, staring at the frozen sea below them. "I'm just worried about her."

Yuffie. Well, that was no surprise. The ninja looked . . . devoid of any real emotion when they showed up at Nibelheim hours ago. She seemed defeated, dejected and a . . . _push over_. Who knew that the wild, loud and headstrong ninja would become a silent girl who did whatever anyone said.

"Vincent, what was Yuffie like when she showed up at your place?"

Crimson eyes narrowed due to the sun glinting off the snow, Vincent shook his head, turning his back on the window. "She was . . . scared, no, nervous might be the best way to put it. She said she needed my help but she kept saying she had to go, she shouldn't have been there. I've never seen her look so _broken_," With a sigh, Vincent dropped into the seat beside Shelke, running his hand down his face, a frown marring his features. "I forced her into the house, she _wasn't_ leaving. Before she fell asleep, she said she _knew_ I'd come for her."

"She knew you'd come for her? But she sought you out . . ." Shelke frowned at the news, leaning back in her chair. "What happened in Wutai? I wonder . . ."

Vincent shook his head as Shelke turned to look at him. "I do not know. She never really got around to talking about it and then you showed up and sent her off."

Shelke grinned at him, it _sounded_ like he was going to give her a lecture. "It was the only way – unless you _wanted_ to see her get dragged off by Chekov . . ."

"She's _**not**_ going back there."

Shelke nodded, always knowing what buttons to press to get under the gunslinger's skin. "Well, then, case closed. She had to leave. You'll see her in no time anyway, we'll find our answers and since we've '_kidnapped'_ her, naturally, we'll have another Wutai war on our hands," here, Shelke rolled her eyes. "So, you'll find a way to release your anger."

Shelke smirked over at Vincent, the gunslinger's crimson eyes narrowed. Before he could answer, there was a knock on the door. Shelke sighed, looking at the heavy, closed door. "Come in."

The door squeaked open, a brown haired girl snuck through the open door, her eyes hesitant. Upon seeing Shelke and Vincent sitting at the head of the table – obviously deep in conversation – she grinned sheepishly at them, saluting. "Sorry for the interruption, Miss. Rui, but the Commander wanted you to know that they have arrived and will be joining you shortly. Also, Mr. ShinRa has retired for the night, he will return at a later date." With another salute, the brunette briskly left the room, the door closing soundly behind her.

"You see," Shelke commented idly, looking back at Vincent. "They're here, just like I said they would be."

Vincent shook his head, a small smile appearing behind his cloak's collar. "ShinRa's here?"

Shelke allowed a small grin to appear on her features. "Oh yes, I interrupted his chat with Reeve about the revival of Gongaga, politics are _so_ boring," she grumbled, propping her chin in her palm. "Besides, who cares about Rufus ShinRa? His time is _over_, the Planet looks to the WRO for support these days."

Vincent shook his head, looking away from Shelke. His response – him not caring too much about ShinRa – died as muted voices and heavy footsteps sounded in the corridor.

Shelke smirked, running her Mako eyes over Vincent. "Sounds like they're here . . ."

Vincent cast his crimson eyes at her, making the ex-Tsviet shrug and stick her tongue out at him. _Real mature_, she figured, but she'd missed out on all that, so it evened out, right?

The footsteps stopped in the corridor as the heavy wooden door slowly opened, the voices drifting inside.

"Chekov's gone to Mideel?" Tifa's voice sounded; a tone of amusement in her voice. "You know that won't last long, Reeve," Tifa smirked, shaking her head.

Reeve shrugged, opening the door wide, motioning for the others to enter. "It was Shelke's idea, not mine."

Shelke smirked, leaning back in her chair, arms crossed. Like hell she cared about _Lord_ Chekov thought of her.

"Feh, that just means he'll drag his ass and his sorry attempt for an army faster," Cid shrugged; a lit cigarette in his hand.

"We have a good army . . ." Yuffie's voice sounded, farther back in the queue.

Barret snorted, rolling his eyes. "Then you're going back there, huh?"

"I doubt that." Marlene grunted, squeezing into the room.

She paused upon seeing Vincent and Shelke sitting at the table, amusement on the latter's face, before pulling out the nearest chair. Drumming her fingers on the table in the annoyance, rolled her eyes as the group stopped in the doorway, bickering over some small, trivial thing more or less. She cast a glance over at Vincent, his crimson eyes intent on the small group, most likely looking for the ninja.

Bored, Shelke cleared her throat, bringing everyone's attention to the present. "Now that we're all here, can we get to what we came here for? We don't have time to wait for Chekov to realize it was all a ruse."

Reeve nodded, closing the door behind him, the door ominously clicking shut behind them. "Shelke is right," Reeve said, clearing his throat. "We don't have time to spend on niceties now; we can do that after we decide what we need to do."

"True, let's get this over with, this isn't exactly how I envisioned Christmas, sitting around a conference table," Tifa grumbled, pulling out a chair, flopping down into it. "Oh – not that I didn't want to see you, Yuffie. I did . . . just under _different_ circumstances."

Yuffie nodded, smiling slightly at the bartender. "I know . . . this _kinda_ ruins the fun, another war . . ." Sighing, she pulled out the chair before her, slumping down into it.

Shelke shook her head from across the table. "It doesn't really matter; it would happen one time or another. Would you still like to be in Wutai with Chekov, having a nice holiday?"

Yuffie glared at Shelke from across the table, slumping down in her chair. "No . . . but . . . it's just we've already fought three wars . . ."

"It doesn't matter," Vincent broke in, crimson eyes meeting storm grey. "You're out of there; we'll deal with the rest of it."

Yuffie nodded, glancing from the table top to Vincent before glancing at the others surrounding the table. "What are we supposed to do though . . . we can't stop Chekov, he's like my father."

Shelke waved the comment aside. "And ShinRa beat Godo in the war, if Chekov is the same . . . well, there's no problem."

"Shelke has a point," Reeve said, glancing from Shelke to Yuffie, the latter glaring at the brunette. "But, before we decide anything, we need to know what happened to you Yuffie. You must tell us what happened in Wutai, everything."

Yuffie paused. ". . . everything?" She sighed, shaking her head as she met with eight pairs of eyes. "Fine, if you really want to know," she mumbled, closing her eyes momentarily, taking a deep breath.

"My father started it all, it's his entire fault," Yuffie started, tracing the grains in the table with her fingers. "When I returned to Wutai after the Omega Incident . . . he wasn't very happy. I wasn't the _proper_ woman running around the world showing my . . . _power_ in battle, a woman shouldn't raise her fist in anger. However, my father, there was a couple things that he neglected to tell me until the very end. My father was dying, just like my mother did, from the inside out," Yuffie shook her head. "I don't know what though, as a woman it _wasn't_ my place to know that sort of thing. A couple days before he died, he summoned me to his room – something he didn't do often – he made a dying wish for me. I – I was surprised, so I agreed to it. He wanted me to bring Wutai back to what it once was . . . but, the only way to that," her voice lowered as she came to the ending of her long-story-short, her eyes leaving the table, locking momentarily with Vincent's. ". . . was for me to marry Chekov."

Tifa blinked. "That's _why_ you married him?!" she said, finding her voice.

Yuffie nodded, looking away from Vincent to the martial artist. "Yes. I suppose that I wasn't thinking . . ."

Tifa shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. "That was uncalled for, playing on your emotions like that!"

Shelke nodded from across the table. "While uncalled for, you are a woman," she ignored the glare Yuffie sent in her direction, "but, that is how Wutai is run. The men rule Wutai, we should all be aware of that fact. Although Yuffie may have been a Princess, she can't govern because there was no man to _**guide**_ her."

"It was too make me a proper woman; one who raised toasts inside of weapons and dotes lovingly on her husband with all devotion," she fought down a cringe.

"Yuffie," Reeve cut in, stopping the banter. "Alright, so you married Chekov because your father asked you that before he died, understandable, he was probably playing on your emotions. But, where were you for the three years after that? You just played housewife to someone who . . . what? Stole your identity and throne from you? What, what happened to you?" Reeve shook his head. "Well, the question everyone probably wants to know . . . your text message for help –"

"Oh!" Tifa yelled, pulling out a sleek phone out of her pocket. "I think I still have it," she mumbled, flipping her phone up, fingers flying over the buttons.

"You still have that?"

"There it is!" Tifa chirped, finding the hasty message. "'_Tifa – Wutai, my house. Nd hlp, pls come hlp. In trble, cant get out.'_" Tifa glanced over her phone to Yuffie, the ninja sinking down in her chair. "I kept it all these years, you have no idea how much I wanted to get you out. We knew you were there when Vincent and I came to Wutai, but we couldn't do anything, right? Vincent said if we did, we'd start another war with Wutai, we'd be framed for kidnapping you – which we already have been. Ugh, we'd just been better off if we'd just forced our way in there!" Tifa loudly said, glancing at the gunslinger a couple seats away.

"It wouldn't have done anything," Yuffie said, confidently. "You don't know Chekov like I do."

Vincent glanced over at Yuffie, his crimson eyes making the ninja freeze. "Then tell us, tell us what the hell happened to you. We want to know what we're up against."

Yuffie sighed, sitting herself up a little straighter. "Vincent, I – I just wanted to see you all again –"

"Yuffie, you told us you weren't going to run anymore, so stop this. Tell us what is going on." Cloud said, leveling Yuffie with a look that she couldn't stand.

Yuffie sighed, nodding, dropping her eyes to the table. "Chekov . . . he, he knew that he couldn't control me. I was '_too wild'_ he told me, that I needed to become a proper woman," Yuffie shuddered, a scowl starting to appear on her face. "So, I wasn't _allowed_ to leave the house, unless I had a male escort. Even that didn't happen often, he didn't think that I was ready yet. He was _trying_ to change me, but I didn't want to. After a couple months, I got tired of being stuck in our small house – actually his; I had to give up my belongings to my husband – so I snuck out. However, that didn't work very well; I only made it to the Wutai border before he realized I was missing. That's when I sent out the text message, it worked, not I suppose . . . not well enough. Why didn't you have to come to the house, that just made everything worse!"

"Worse?" Tifa cut in, hands down on the table, staring intently at Yuffie. "We tried to get you out!"

"It didn't work, did it?" Yuffie mumbled, shaking her head. "It just made everything worse . . . Chekov started to get violent. We got into many spats and eventually, we started to throw blows at one another. He liked to work on my mind; he made me believe that woman can't stand up against men. He liked to throw the word of Leviathan at me, saying that I was a disgrace to Leviathan. It actually worked; listening to it for three years can do that to you."

"Yuffie," Tifa trailed off, pushing herself away from the table and chairs, crossing the table to her. "We're not going to let you go back – we'll do whatever it takes to keep you here."

Shelke snorted from across the table. "Like that's going to be hard. Remember the Wutai war? ShinRa creamed Wutai in the span of a couple months; we can easily to it again. We have a glutton of weapons at our disposal, although we don't have the power of Chaos," – Shelke cast a small glance at Vincent – "We can still win, as you said years ago; Wutai is nothing more then a tourist trap. This is _**simple**_."

Yuffie smirked, shaking her head as she brushed Tifa's hands away from her. "You haven't been doing any net dives lately have you, Shelke? No, Wutai is powerful, they're creating mass weapons – they don't want to another war, they plan to be prepared this time."

---

AN –

Woohoo another update, can't believe I haven't updated since April. Anyway, summer's here and it's hot so I'm inside more.

I might be stuck at a writers block, but I'll think of something.

Anyways, R&R.

AN2: The idea for this song choice came from when Yuffie and the rest of Avalance are on their way back to the base in Junon and being around her friends again, she decides that she doesn't want to go through all the drama again - that she's going to fight this time. In a nutshell, Yuffie is stopping the drama right there, well, trying to at least.


	9. 09: Sleepless Night

Since Meteorfall, Mideel had started to flourish from what it once was. The town still had traces of the Lifestream circling around the buildings, oozing beneath the sidewalks and cracks in the pavement if any sort of shift was too happen. The houses had been rebuilt – much to the help of the WRO – the biggest building being the once-small hospital.

The hospital was the hot spot of the island, well known for being **_the_** hospital that cured AVALANCE leader Cloud Strife of Mako poisoning during the events leading up to Meteorfall. In front of the two floor hospital, on one of the pillar's plaque surrounding the pathway to the building, announced – if you _didn't _know – about Cloud Strife and AVALANCE's stay at the hospital. The first floor was designed the same as it looked before the attack by WEAPON, and was the hot spot for sightseers and tours.

It was at this spot that three people stood, looking at the famed building, a scowl on their leader's face, his dark eyes narrowed at the pillars declaring its support for AVALANCE.  Shaking his head, he turned away from the building; just looking at it was making his angrier. They supported AVALANCE _'for whatever they did in the future, wishing them success in their ventures'_.

By that statement alone, the people of Mideel couldn't be trusted; they would come to the aid and support of AVALANCE, and the WRO by association.

"My liege, where would they be?"

A frown came to his face, since they had arrived in the Mideel a couple hours ago; they had seen nothing except for the swirling snow around them, coating everything in a thick blanket of snow. Shaking his head, he started through the snow, three sets of footprints left behind them. "I wonder . . . if they are _even_ here at all . . ."

The Tsviet had said that they were going to Mideel for Christmas, to meet up with the rest of their well-known group. It had struck him as odd as he stood in that old manor, that they would be going all the way out here . . . away from everything, the farthest from all their homes. The island wasn't that big either, so where could a group that large and loud be? Mideel was more-or-less a single street, with little dirt roads branching off from the main, going no more then a couple feet at most.

"You believe that they are not here?"

Chekov nodded, that was exactly what he thought. It was too much of a coincidence. If they knew where Yuffie was – and this makes it seem like they _did _know – the Tsviet had said this to get them out of the way. To buy them time. He shook his head, a smirk twisting across his face. The Tsviet was a smart one; he'd have to watch her carefully, learn how she worked, and get rid of her if need be.

With her talents, she could be a hassle.

About to bring his observations to his bodyguards, he stopped as he saw a front door open, someone exited the house, waving to those still inside. What a better time to test his theories.

"Excuse me," he called, not bothering to hide his accent. "I'm looking for the members of AVALANCE, I heard they were here."

The girl, no more then a teenager, scoffed at him, jamming her hat further down on her head. "It isn't summer, they're not here. _Duh_, **everyone** knows that, do you live under a rock or something?" With a roll of her eyes, mumbling to herself, she turned her back of the tiny group.

Chekov's grin grew at the girl's words. They weren't here in Mideel afterwards. This was all to buy them time, move to a different place, less known, undetected. He had to give the Tsviet credit, her lie had worked on him, and she knew what she was doing. Deepground was taught well . . . it was only too bad that she was the only surviving member left . . .

"We're going back to Wutai," he said, turning to face his guards. "They aren't here, but I have a general idea where they might have run off to. Either way, they _have_ **her** with them."

His guards nodded, ushering the Lord of Wutai out of the town to where there transportation was waiting.

It wouldn't be long now.

--

The meeting disbanded for the night, night having fallen over the ever-busy town, the twinkle of brightly coloured lights the only sign of life in the town. Strom grey eyes glanced out the window, the happy town below them. Sighing, Yuffie moved away from the window, flopping down in the large chair facing away from the window.

She couldn't believe she was here, that she had _actually_ managed to get away from Wutai, Chekov, all of it.

A smirk graced her features as she drew her legs up onto the chair beside her, locking her fingers together. Dropping her chin onto her knees, she closed her storm grey eyes. So much had happened in such a small amount of time. It was just like the old days – on the run, something looming on the horizon. The only difference was that they had their own room, more-or-less; she hadn't liked it at the time, but now, with the large room all to herself, she didn't know what she thought.

She glanced around the room, the nightstands framing the large bed, a walk-in closet to the left of the room with the large window behind her, a couple chairs and a small coffee table in between. She had to shake her head as she took in the small room; the WRO went to a lot of work with their guest rooms. Idly, she wondered who else had stayed in this room, but then she had shrugged it off, not really caring.

"This is _kinda _boring . . ." she mumbled, suppressing a yawn.

Tifa and Cloud were sharing on of the rooms down the hall – _about time_, she thought – as were Cid and Shera, whereas Barret, Marlene, Vincent and herself all had their own rooms. She didn't know where Reeve and Shelke had gone off, probably still in the conference room, having remained behind after they waved everybody off for the night.

Having none of her possessions with her, she wasn't sure what she should do . . .

Suppressing a yawn, Yuffie moved to stand up, stretching as she did so. In a place like this, somewhere she hadn't been for a while, it was against her nature to sit back and not look around. As her trademark grin made its way across her features, she crossed the room – figuring she'd be able to get back her easily – she closed her door silently behind her.

The hallways of the WRO headquarters all looked the same, she quickly noted.

The walls were a neutral colour, a white, tiled floor beneath her, the doors lining the wall, all closed at this time of night. Stopping in the middle of the hall, no more then a handful of feet away from her own door, she frowned as she crossed her arms over her chest. In the dim lights of the hallway, Yuffie let out a sigh.

Somehow, she _doubted_ she'd see much this time of night . . .

Grumbling, having hardly seen anything, Yuffie turned around, heading back to her room. She glanced as Cloud and Tifa's closed door, the lights off, the room silent. Marlene's room was offset from Cloud and Tifa's, her door open a crack, the lights on. Grinning, Yuffie moved towards the opened room, pausing outside as she heard the rumble of voices. Listening closely, Yuffie drowned out the music – a heavy bass sound, guitar sounding rapidly – to hear the voices of Marlene and Barret, the two sounding like they were in an argument over something.

"Like I need an _angry_ Barret turning on me," Yuffie mumbled, rolling her eyes as she moved away from the room.

Cid and Shera's door came into view, the light from their room still seeping through the crack at the bottom of the door. Yuffie passed by the door, shaking her head. Cid was Cid and she didn't want to get into it now. She paused outside her door – intentionally left open – glancing down the rest of the hallway, the dim light making it look darker then it originally was. She figured that Barret and Vincent's rooms were down that way, making her wonder what Barret could _possibly_ argue with Marlene about at this time of night.

Shaking her head, it didn't _really_ matter, she opened her bedroom door, sighing as the dark and silence crept out towards her. "Back to where I started . . ." she mumbled, flipping on the light switch, wincing at the sudden light.

The door closed behind her, she moved to the large bed, and having changed into her pajama's hours ago, sunk into the bed. She jammed her pillow under her head, the covers still beneath her. Reaching for the lamp on her table, she flipped it off, incasing the room in darkness. She closed her storm grey eyes, but they opened moments later anyway.

She knew he couldn't be here, that he was miles away, but that didn't really mean anything. Lying in the darkness, her back to the large window, she felt _small_. At that thought she frowned, sitting up, drawing her knees up to her body again. She didn't want to admit it, to think about it, but here in the large room all alone, she felt that _anything_ could happen to her.

"He's not here . . . there's _no_ way," she chanted that to herself a couple times, but unsure if she believed that.

Glancing around the dark room, she brought her legs down to the carpeted floor, and pushing herself off the would-be-comfy bed, Yuffie left the darkened room, fleeing from the memories the darkness seemed to draw on. In the dimly lit hallway, a shiver running up her spine as the coolness from the floor ran up her body. She could see the light coming from Marlene's room – the lights still on, the music having stopped however – she turned her back to it, deciding to head in the other direction.

It didn't take her long, her mind a mile away, her feet seemed to do the leading, and within no time flat, she was standing outside the last closed door. _Vincent's_, she thought idly.

Thinking back on the brooding gunslinger since she had fled from his house as per Shelke's demand – could that _really _only be last night? – she hadn't gotten a chance to speak with him. Sure, she might have seen him from across the conference table; but after the meeting was over, Tifa and Marlene had dragged her off in the other direction. She had supposed the gunslinger had gone back to his room of sorts. As she watched Marlene and Tifa decorate the tree that the WRO didn't have-time-to-decorate, helping out where she could, wishing she could quietly slip away unnoticed.

She shook her head, her fist raised, inches away from the closed door. This was silly, she thought. He was probably already asleep, no light slipping out through the cracks around the door. Figuring there was no turning back now, she brought her fist to the door, knocking a couple times. She listened intently, biting down on her lip, hearing nothing inside.

_This **was** silly_, she cursed herself, the room silent. _Vincent won't answer_.

About to turn around, figuring she'd see what Marlene and Barret were up to (they couldn't _still_ be arguing, right?) she paused as a small touch of light appeared at the bottom of the closed door, before said door opened on its own.

Yuffie blinked, half turned around, glancing back at the open door, the gunslinger standing there, the light behind him.

"Yuffie . . ."

At the sight of the gunslinger, his regular attire missing, she found herself falling silent. In the back of her mind, her final words to Vincent before she left the manor came flying back to her, _I always knew you'd help me . . . that's – that's why I **always** loved you_. She blanked, had she really said that?

"Yuffie . . .?"

His voice snapped her out of her thoughts, her head snapping up to stare at him. Awkwardly, she smiled at him, pushing the memory away for the time being. "I probably woke you up, huh?" Chekov wouldn't be _happy_, if it'd been him standing there, but she pushed the idea of the oriental man from her mind. "I can come back later –"

Vincent shook his head, pushing the door open wider. "We have a couple things to talk about."

Yuffie nodded, she knew she'd have to come clean to him eventually. He hadn't been a Turk for nothing; he _knew_ that she hadn't told him everything the other night in his Manor. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that everything that had happened since then, the arrival of Reeve, Shelke and Chekov at his front door, in the same night, had questioned what had _really _happened.

Hearing the door close behind her, his room designed similar to hers, he motioned for her to sit down. Nodding, Yuffie sat down in the nearest chair, storm grey eyes watching the gunslinger move around the room, sitting in the chair across from her. Storm Grey met Crimson, the ninja smiling tentatively.

"Vince, where do you want me to begin?"

Vincent just looked at her, arms crossed over his chest as he looked intently at her, almost dwarfed by the chair as she sat on the edge of it, not exactly at ease yet. He shook his head, this might take a while. He glanced from the ninja to the bed pushed up against the wall, looked like tonight was going to be a long night. "It doesn't really matter, Yuffie," he said at length. "Just, start wherever you think you _should_ start."

Yuffie sighed, frowning at him. "That _really_ helps, Vince, seriously."

--

Humming to herself, her footsteps sounding lightly against the floor beneath her, Tifa stretched as she stopped outside of Yuffie's closed door. The meeting-of-sorts the night before had been interesting, although they hadn't _really_ learned anything about what was/ had happened in Wutai. Sighing, Yuffie liked to keep her secrets; she raised her fist to the door, knocking soundly.

No answer. Tifa frowned, Yuffie _should_ be in there, and she had been really tired at the meeting. Tifa knocked a couple more times, getting more agitated as there was no answer from the other side. "Yuffie – time to get up," Tifa called in a sing-song voice, pushing the door open.

She paused as the door opened.

The room was empty; the curtains pulled back, the bed never touched.

A frown marred her features, _where_ could Yuffie had gone? Leaving the room, her mind a mile away, she closed the bedroom door behind her, heading further down the corridor. Before her mind could catch up with her feet, she could herself staring at Vincent's door, her fist poised to knock on the light wood. She sighed, shaking her head as she realized where she was, she should have _known_ Yuffie would have gone here.

How could she have forgotten that? She pegged it down to being so many years, so many things in between.

She knocked loudly on the door a couple times before stepping back, waiting. She frowned, there didn't seem to any noise on the other side of the door. Had _both_ of them gone out? Her mind getting ahead of her, this could get bad if the two of them had gone out to do . . . well, she didn't want to think of what Vincent might do if he ran into Chekov. Wine coloured eyes glancing intently back at the door, she moved to the door again, jumping back, fist raised, as the door opened.

She dropped her hands to her side, eyebrows raised. "Vincent?"

The gunslinger stood in the door, his usual attire missing, his dark hair hanging across his face. Tifa blinked as she met his crimson coloured eyes. "Um," she shook her head, trying to rearrange her thoughts. "Do you know where Yuffie is? She isn't in her room."

Vincent nodded, glancing back into his darkened room. "Yes, Yuffie is here."

"Yuffie is . . ." Tifa trailed off, catching Vincent's eye. "Oh, okay then –"

"Tifa," Vincent cut her off, shaking his head. "It is not what you are thinking. Yuffie was unable to sleep last night; although she knew he wouldn't be able to find her here. She needed someone to talk to and due to the late hour –"

Tifa held up her hand to stop him. "I understand," she said, shaking her head. "Yuffie would turn to you; it's nothing that I didn't expect. We're all heading down for breakfast, alright? You both have got to come down."

Vincent nodded. "Yuffie, however, is still asleep."

Tifa sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "Don't wake her up – she _needs_ her sleep. Come down after, we've got a lot to go over." Tifa pushed her dark hair back, starting down the hallway. "See you later."

--

Vincent sighed as Tifa started down the hallway, closing the heavy door behind him. Running a hand across his face, his mind whirling with the revelations Yuffie had discussed the night previous, he quietly locked the door, turning around. His crimson eyes quickly found the tiny ninja, dead asleep on his bed, sheets wrapped around her from all her tossing and turning. The ninja had spent most of the night sitting in the chair opposite him, explaining what haunted her, why she couldn't remain in her own room.

Having sunk down onto the couch – which, he had spent the night _sleeping_ on – he snapped out of his thoughts as he heard a groan from the direction of the bed. He had to smile as he noticed the ninja, her hair sticking up in all directions, yawning as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Morning Yuffie."

Yuffie dropped her hands from her eyes, blinking blearily as she looked over at Vincent. Her eyes adjusting to the light, she smiled as she noticed the gunslinger looked at her from the couch. Sitting up from the bed with a stretch, the sheets falling to her waist, she glanced around her. "How did I . . .?"

Vincent shook his head. "You fell asleep in the chair, you didn't look to comfortable."

Yuffie fought down the blush she knew would no doubt appear at his words. Trying not to smile like an idiot, she glanced down at the sheets pooled around her waist. "Then, where did you sleep?" She wouldn't let her imagination get ahead of her.

"On the couch," Vincent said with a shrug."

Yuffie brought her storm grey eyes to meet his. "You didn't have to," she said, stumbling over the words. "I could have slept on the couch . . ."

Vincent shook his head. "You needed the sleep more then I did."

Yuffie found she couldn't stop her silly grin from appearing on her face. With quick reflexes, she threw the sheets away from her, springing nimbly from the bed, crossed the room and before Vincent noticed the ninja, she had thrown her arms around his neck. "Vincent – I _never_ knew you were so nice!" Vincent rolled his eyes, hearing the sarcasm dripping from her voice. Yuffie dropped her arms, leaning over the back of the couch to look at him. "I'm hungry."

"Tifa was here a couple minutes before you woke up," he said, wondering if Yuffie had heard his conversation with the marital artist. "She was wondering where you had disappeared too. Tifa says their having breakfast downstairs and they wanted you to know."

"Ah, that's great!" Yuffie chirped, pushing away from the couch. "I'm starving! I haven't eaten since . . . hmm . . . before I came to your place I think." Vincent frowned at the comment, not noticing that Yuffie was standing in front of him until she made a grab for his hand – his gauntlet hand, he noticed – trying to pull the gunslinger along with her. "Come on, you know how much Barret and Cid eat! They're going to eat is _all_!"

--

A/N –

I'm getting faster at this and it's starting to speed up fast.

I'm not sure what should happen between Chekov and the WRO, but something shall pop up.

Any suggestions, shoot away.


	10. 10: Plans

Yuffie was starving before they even got downstairs. In her hurry, she managed to keep ahead of Vincent, storm grey eyes glancing back over her shoulders every now and again. Reaching the bottom of the last staircase – why Reeve made the bedrooms so far from the kitchen, she'd _never_ understand – she whirled around on her heels, smelling what they were cooking from the kitchen. Grinning widely, she took off around the corner, leaving Vincent behind.

The gunslinger shook his head at the ninja's actions – she _still_ had a one-track mind. He could hear her loud steps in front of him, the floorboards creaking under her weight, chair legs dragging across the floor. He shook his head, it might have been quiet a while, but, Yuffie still managed to find the kitchen. As he came around the corner himself, the large kitchen in front of him, the table taking up the majority of space. He glanced briefly at Yuffie, Tifa talking rapidly to her, while Marlene glanced around Tifa, not wanting to be left out of the conversation. Shaking his head, he dropped down between Cloud and Cid, the latter grumbling about his cigarettes. Vincent rolled his eyes, Cid would never change.

"Pancakes are ready!" Shera called, turning to glance at the large group surrounding the table.

Shelke nodded at Shera's shout, opening up the cupboard above her head, plates piled sky high. Carefully, the Tsviet pulled a majority of the stack down, separating them for Shera, spatula in hand.

Yuffie grinned, pushing her chair away from the table. _Pancakes_! That was something she hadn't had for a while . . . she brought her eyebrows together, a frown marring her features. It _had_ to have been a couple weeks after the Omega Incident, Marlene's birthday right?

"Yuffie," the ninja jumped out of her thoughts, storm grey eyes glancing around at Tifa, the bartender a couple feet away from her. "You really zoned out, come on, hurry up – you know how Barret and Cid get."

Yuffie's blank stare turned into a smirk before she narrowed her eyes at the mention of the two older men. Tifa let out a grin, Yuffie was starting to come out of that shell of hers.

_It's about time_, Tifa thought to herself, shaking her head lightly.

The bartender sighed, following after the ninja, her mind a mile away as she picked up the empty plate resting on the counter top. Yuffie had disappeared for three years, needing their help. She _'wasn't'_ in Wutai, but she said that was where she was. As Shera dropped the remaining few pancakes onto her plate, she knew she'd take Yuffie's words over Chekov's. Talk about a creep.

So, if Yuffie was in Wutai all that time, what had happened? She suspected that Vincent knew, but he was probably the _only_ one who did. She rolled her eyes as she dropped into her seat, picking up the cutlery beside the plate. As if she could get Vincent to tell her, he wasn't one to tell secrets. It was _no_ wonder Yuffie chose Vincent.

Her wine coloured eyes darted over to Yuffie beside her, glancing down at her plate. Yuffie didn't seem all that interested in the pancakes either – she suspected hat Yuffie was staring off into space again – considering she was cutting the same piece over and over again. She wondered what was going on in Yuffie's mind.

Yuffie was harder to read since she came back, making the bartender frown. Yuffie used to be such an open book – restoring her country to its rightful place, collecting materia and being the _greatest_ ninja ever – but now . . . what did Yuffie want?

Her mind drew up a blank. Shaking her head, Tifa let out a sigh, turning her attention away from Yuffie to the pancakes piled up on her plate. Tifa noticed that the table was silent – talk about _strange_ for this group – and spearing her pancakes with her fork, glanced around the group. Shera and Shelke were still in the kitchen, plates in hand. She rolled her eyes as she saw Cloud, Cid and Barret, _classic guy_, she thought, they were paying no attention to anything besides their plates. Marlene was giggling about something, her plate empty, while Yuffie glanced down at her plate, not really seeing it she thought. Shaking her head, she glanced at Vincent, on the other side of the table, noticing his crimson eyes never left Yuffie's small figure.

Shelke leaned against the counter, chin propped up in her hands, she let out a sigh, her plate empty in front of her. She let out a loud breath, the silence in the room stifling her. She had had enough silence when she was underneath Midgar, she didn't need _any_ more now. Mako eyes glanced over at the table, rolling her eyes at the group. After such a long time apart they decided to be silent together? She shook her head; sometimes she didn't understand the unique group.

"You know," she said, breaking the silence, pushing away from the counter top. "I don't see why you can't go outside Yuffie –"

Yuffie snorted, rolling her eyes as she looked over at Shelke. "_Hello_, if I ever step outside I'm heading back to Wutai."

Shelke waved the comment aside. "Do you really think I'm stupid enough not to know that? We were discussing it last night, if we simply modify your appearance you'll be able to get out – that is, _if_ you've got someone with you."

"That's actually a good idea," Tifa commented, glancing from Shelke to Yuffie. A frown appeared on her features – breakfast forgotten – as she glanced over at Yuffie, an idea running through her mind. "This might actually work . . . Shera . . . you up for a little amusement."

Shera nodded from across the table. "We could do wonders with her . . ."

Yuffie frowned, dropping her fork onto the table, narrowing her storm grey eyes at the two women. "You _wouldn't_ dare . . . I'm not trusting you."

Tifa huffed, pushing her chair back. "Come on Yuffie, you _know_ you'll like it when we're finished with you." Yuffie shook her head, looking anywhere but at Tifa. Tifa grinned, crossing her arms over her chest. "This is rich, Yuffie, you can fight Sephiroth, Kadaj and Deepground but when it comes to a day with _girls_ . . ."

Yuffie glared at Tifa, sighing in defeat. "You better not make me look horrible . . ."

Tifa let out a squeal as Yuffie agreed, reculently pushing her chair back. Grabbing her hand and beckoning to Shera, Tifa dragged Yuffie out of the kitchen, the ninja looking as if she were on her death bed. As the door swung shut behind Shera, Barret rolled his eyes. "_Women_ I'll **never** understand them."

Cid nodded from agreement, grabbing his cigarette and lighter from his coat pocket. "You _aren't _supposed to understand them, fact of life."

Marlene shook her head, slipping out of her chair unnoticed. As the men left around the room started talking about the women and how hard they were to understand – she vaguely noticed Vincent saying anything – she slipped out the swinging door, plate in hand.

"Boys are weird," she mumbled, slumping onto the hallway stool, balancing her plate on the too small table.

Fixing the wobbling plate with a heated glare, she moved up onto her knees, grabbing the phone from its wall hanger. Hearing the dial tone, she punched in the well memorized numbers, shifting her body to sit on the stool, legs swinging back and forth as the phone rang. Within a couple rings, someone picked up on the other side.

"Hello?" They sounded tired.

"Denzel!" she chirped, a large smile across her face. She hadn't heard from him lately. "How are you?"

". . . I'm tired . . ." he supplied. "Yourself?"

"You're tired?!" Marlene commented, a small laugh escaping her lips. "How can you be tired? The sun's up."

Denzel shook his head and Marlene could hear the springs of his bed groan as he moved around. "We were up late last night . . ."

Marlene nodded, twirling the cord from the phone to the wall jack around her finger. It sounded like he had more to say then that. "And . . ." she prompted.

Denzel sighed from the other side of the phone. "Marlene, we're trying to find Yuffie Kisaragi. Did Tifa and everyone really kidnap her?"

Marlene paused, her mouth moving silently. Where had _that_ come from? "W-what?" she stuttered. "Tifa didn't _kidnap _her, they're **friends**. What got into you?"

"It's late, Marlene."

_It's after nine am_, she thought, rolling her eyes. "Reeve never mentioned that they were looking for Yuffie . . ."

"Listen Marlene, can we talk later. I'm really tired."

Marlene nodded sullenly, frowning. "Okay . . . bye . . ."

She blinked as she heard the phone disconnect without a goodbye. "How _rude_," she mumbled, turning around to hang the phone back up.

As she picked up her plate, she padded across the room, heading upstairs where she could hear Tifa's loud voice. The stairs creaked underneath Marlene's weight, the teenager too deep in thought. What was with Denzel on the phone? He was looking for Yuffie, he said. Why would Reeve send out a team looking for Yuffie – even if he had, he would have contacted them to call it off, right? – when she was right here in Headquarters. Reaching the top of the stairs, Marlene frowned, something not clicking together.

Something was up with Denzel . . . something, _something_ she just couldn't put her finger on, no matter how much the similarity gnawed on her mind.

--

Yuffie frowned as she was forced down onto the chair in front of Tifa's dresser. Tifa turned the ceiling lights in as they entered, illuminating the large bedroom against the dreary day outside the window, the snow falling slowly. Behind her, Tifa stood, her nimble fingers running through the ninja's long hair, a frown on the martial artists face. Neither girl said anything as they stared out into space – after, so many years, it was _slightly_ awkward – but jumped as the door opened, Shera slipping in.

"Okay, I grabbed what I brought with me, so what are we going to do with her?"

Tifa grinned widely, glancing from the mirror to Shera, her arms full. "Alright, I have no idea, but we'll just wing it, okay?"

Shera nodded, approaching the dresser, dropping her products onto the dresser. Yuffie let out a sigh as she noticed all the stuff; this was going to be a **_long_** day. Glancing across the top, she noticed the multiple, different brushes, bottles stating different things turnouts that Yuffie didn't understand, hair ties, hair dryers and a type of curling iron. Yuffie rolled her eyes.

"Now, what _kind_ of style do we want to do?"

"How about my old one?" Yuffie commented. It was her hair after all; she _should_ get a say.

Tifa shook her head. "Too noticeable, we need to reinvent yourself."

Yuffie grumbled as the bedroom opened once again. "Maybe I liked the way my hair looked . . ."

"You should give her blonde hair and streak it a bunch of colours," Marlene commented, crossing the room to the trio, magazine in hand. "Give her an edgy cut, like a rocker!"

"How about shoulder length and wavy?" Shera suggested, tilting her head to the side as she looked intently at Yuffie. "Maybe dye her hair red too."

Tifa shook her head. "Just a plain style, we don't want her to draw attention to herself."

Marlene rolled her eyes as she perched on top of the dresser, flipping through it. "Have you _seen_ Junon's residences? Rocker style is the best way to explain it."

Yuffie forced down the urge to let out a sigh, rolling her eyes instead at the differing comments. All she wanted was her old hairstyle back . . .

"As long as it's _blonde_, I'm cool with it," Marlene finally said with a shrug.

"Nah, I like red," Shera shook her head.

"**I** like black," Yuffie cut in, eyes narrowed.

"No can do, too recognizable, Yuffie, it's got to be something else," Tifa shook her head. "Why don't we just do blonde then with red streaks?"

Marlene snorted, shaking her head. "That's just going to look _dumb_, if you're doing streaks, use brown _instead_ of red. Red's not going to go nicely with her complexion."

"Blonde and Brown?" Marlene and Shera nodded, while Yuffie scowled as them through the mirror. "Alright then, Marlene, head down to the shopping district and get some hair dye – ask Cloud for some gil on the way"

Marlene nodded, a smirk gracing her features. "See you Yuffie," and with a cheeky grin and a wave over her shoulder, she pushed the bedroom door open, disappearing outside.

"This isn't really necessary," Yuffie said as the door closed behind Marlene. "I mean, I don't mind staying in the headquarters –"

"So long as _Vincent's_ around."

"Huh?" Yuffie questioned, eyebrows quirked as she glared over at Tifa, holding her gaze. Shera, meanwhile, glanced over at Tifa, eyes wide as she let out a demanding "What?!"

Tifa let out a laugh, leaning back on her palms like she was still a teenager with a juicy story. "Yuffie spent the night with Vincent, sleeping on his bed. Walked right in on it."

"It?" Shera picked up, glancing from the grinning Tifa to the blushing Yuffie. "What'd you walk in on – what _happened_?"

"Nothing!" Yuffie shouted, jumping off the stool, eyes wide. "We didn't do anything, I just couldn't sleep."

Tifa's smirk grew. "I never said you did anything Yuffie."

Yuffie let out a yell as Tifa wiggled her eyebrows, throwing herself at the bartender, the two falling into a lump on the bed. Shera let out a laugh at the two's actions, shaking her head. Tifa let out a laugh as she fell; she _knew_ she could still get a reaction out of Yuffie. Yuffie grinned as she looked up, locking eyes with Tifa before she broke out laughing too. As the three girls laughed over nothing really, Yuffie rolled off Tifa and onto the bed, their laughter dying slightly. Shera took a deep breath, calming down. "So, what did happen last night?"

Yuffie sighed. "I couldn't sleep. Every time I tried, I kept seeing Chekov. I knew it wasn't possible, but I kept imagining him coming here, for me, through the big window in the room – no one would know that I was gone then. But, everyone was asleep, Marlene was up, but it sounded like her and Barret were arguing about something. I found that, during the Omega Crisis, Vincent and I had something from all our time working together. I just wanted, _needed_, to talk to him, I hadn't gotten to talk to him much. I didn't get a chance to talk at his mansion as I slept most of it and then Shelke and Reeve showed up. We talked in his room for a while, I eventually fell asleep in the chair and –"

"Vincent moved her to his bed and he slept on the couch!" Tifa blurted out, unable to keep silent anymore.

"Ah, that's so sweet!" Shera gushed. "He _must_ like you then, I can't see _Vincent_ doing that for anyone!"

Yuffie scoffed at the comment – she couldn't believe that – but Tifa frowned. "Don't brush that off, Yuffie, we're serious here."

"I'm back!" Marlene chirped, the door banging open.

Yuffie's retort died in her throat. "That's great," she mumbled, spotting the boxes in her hand. "Have you decided on a torture for me yet?"

"Rocker style!" Marlene chirped. "You'll look different."

"She'll stand out," Shera objected again. "Waves are classic, she'll _blend_ in."

"I went and bought it, it's my choice."

Tifa shook her head, dropping Yuffie back onto the stool. "In that case, I paid for it, so I get to choose."

Shera scowled, the scientist glancing at the dresser top. "But, all that stuff is mine; I get a say."

Yuffie frowned, dropping her head into her hands. This _really_ was going to take all day, she just knew it . . .

--

Her plate empty, Shelke ran it and her cup underneath the running water before piling it up on top of the rest of them. A frown on her face, she glanced at the dishes, deep in thought. Yuffie had shown up after three years with all of Wutai beating around trying to locate her, saying she'd been kidnapped. Why all the fuss now when she had run all over the Planet since she was sixteen, her hometown _never_ knowing where she was.

Something was wrong here, something Yuffie didn't want to talk about – or, Shelke shuddered, the Wutai Princess didn't even know what was happening.

Frowning, Shelke shook her head. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling that they were in over their heads. If that _was_ the case, they were going to need all the help they could get.

"There's only one way to know," she mused to herself, running a hand over her face. Reeve wouldn't be happy about this; she could just imagine the Commander's response if he knew what was going on in her mind. Her mind made up, Shelke shook her head. "I'll deal with the consequences after."

Glancing back at the kitchen table, only Barret and Cid sitting there, Shelke moved quietly past them, disappearing out the swinging door. As their chatter became muffled as the door shut, Shelke stretched, heading down the hallway. She hoped she wouldn't run into Reeve and Vincent – there wasn't much in this direction – and she didn't want Reeve to guess what she was doing. He would _never_ let her hear the end of it. Her footsteps echoed against the flooring, lost in her own thoughts. As she reached the end of the hallway, the last door on the right beckoning her silently, she stopped before it. Mako eyes glanced down at the small keypad, she quickly punched in her numbers.

On the other side of the door, she hoped that Reeve and Vincent weren't sitting there, this being the only room to talk privately.

As her code was accepted, her identity confirmed, the door sprung open to allow her entrance.

It was empty inside. She let out a sigh of relief; she didn't want to hear the cons to her plan.

Moving across the room, around the large conference table, she stopped at the far end of the room, the large window at her side. The normal eye wouldn't notice the different, but there was a blend-in-with-the-wall door conspicuously hidden, hiding her SND machinery.

She bit down on her lip as she entered her access code once more, Reeve's warning coming back to her.

_"Shelke," Reeve had said when Rufus had finally left the office. "Why would you have done that? You know the risks."_

_Shelke nodded, not dropping her gaze from his. He was just trying to protect her, she knew. After so many net dives – much like during the Omega Crisis – she began to hold the memories and emotions of those she had happened to come across. The strongest being those of Lucrecia Crescent. _

_"It was the only way, Reeve," she commented. "At least, now we know what is going on. I don't regret it."_

_Reeve sighed, running a hand over his face. "I just worry that something could happen to you."_

_Shelke nodded, looking away from him. "Yes, the risk is there, but she . . . I owe her that much at least."_

_"Just let me _know_ next time . . ." he said after a moment's pause._

Shelke sighed, shaking his words, her promise from her mind. He wouldn't let her do it anyway. As her code and identity was confirmed once again, the door opened, the lights automatically coming on as the door closed tightly behind her. Shelke's Mako eyes glanced around the forgotten room, a thin layer of dust settling on the metallic chair and dome overhead.

"Here goes nothing," she mumbled to herself, her feet carrying her over to the chair, brushing the dust aside as she sat down.

There was probably spider webs and whatever else would be crawling around the sealed room. She rolled her eyes at the idea, after leaving in Deepground for all those years, this was _nothing_.

As she sat down in the familiar chair, leaning back against the cool surface, Mako eyes closing out the harsh world around her. Reaching her hands up, she grasped the edges of the dome, bringing it down over her head before her fingers found the buttons adorning the armrest. It was familiar to her, all too familiar.

And as the machine came to life, Shelke felt a momentary jolt of pain as she made the connection, diving into the computer system, her body falling limp as she located the right route.

--


	11. 11: First Round

Ever since Chekov had returned from the wintry plains of Mideel, Wutai had been far from quiet. Chekov had returned to the Pagoda's grounds, using his right of ruler to live in the massive red building. Why he allowed Yuffie to over rule him, he didn't know.

That, for sure, _would_ change when she returned home.

The chambers he called his own, had been empty of everything when he arrived there. Since his return, the room looked lived in, the Wutai ruler hardly ever leaving. Above the large desk, a map of Gaia hung on the wall, his storm grey eyes boring holes into the parchment.

When he wasn't dealing with the problems facing Wutai – although there never was many – he stared at the map, pacing. Marks littered the map, making him frown and grin at the same time.

Wutai, Mideel and Nibelheim had a black mark crossing them out; having shown no sign of Yuffie.

Junon, on the other hand, had a large _circle_ around it.

Considering the metropolis of the east continent was the larger city and headquarters of the WRO.

Although he _couldn't _prove it yet, he **_knew_** Yuffie was there.

All he needed now was a sign, something to declare where Junon stood on this matter.

A large knock sounded on the door behind him, causing Chekov to look away from the map, annoyed. "Enter," was his only comment.

The door slid open at the request, the man bowing in respect. "My lord, sorry for the interruption –"

Chekov waved the comment aside. "Hurry it up, I am quiet busy."

"Sir, we have a **hit** from Junon."

Chekov paused, a grin slowly appearing on his face, twisting his features. Everything was going according to the plan. "Have you locked on the target yet?"

The man shook his head, worry clouding in his face as he braced for the ruler's wrath. "They were working on it when I left to inform you."

"Good," Chekov said with a nod, a glint in his eyes. "Take me there this instant."

The man nodded once again in response before backing out of the room, ushering for him to follow. Chekov moved from the room gracefully, hands clasped behind his back, his grin still held in place. As the escort fell in front of Chekov as he moved down the hallway. The escort glanced over his shoulders to make sure the Lord was still behind him, the latter moving so quietly, like he wasn't there. Turning the corner, they started up the colourful stairwell; their footsteps were the only sounds that graced their ears.

Eventually, the stairwell turned into a hallway, the highest level of the Pagoda. The room had been changed over from the battle challenge that Godo had constructed to the room being wall-to-wall machinery, the metal products beeping and blinking as the engineer's moved back and forth between them.

With his sweeping robes and powerful demeanor, he appeared in the room, storm grey eyes looking intently around the room. The Wutai engineer's ran busily from machine to machine, not paying any attention to the new addition to the room. Normally, this kind of response would have angered him, but considering the circumstances, he didn't mind.

He was _one step_ closer to **finding** Yuffie Kisaragi.

Chekov cleared his throat. "You've got a hit from Junon, I was informed."

Clipboard in hand, the man nearest Chekov looked away from the towering large machine behind him to glance at Chekov. He nodded at the question, his clipboard dropping to his side. "Yes, you were informed correctly, my lord," he said with a bow. "Ten minutes ago, we received the hit. After the last attempt a week ago, we made the desired changes you wished for and the same parameters and signal showed up. We have managed to isolate out hacker as they were attempting to access our main database. We will give them credit, they managed to get past our fist two barriers before we realized their presence; they _are_ a first class hacker."

Chekov threw a glare at the engineer as he let out a laugh, shaking his head. "You have them then?"

There was _no_ doubt about it in Chekov's mind. It was the Tsviet-turned-WRO agent again.

Within the course of a week, Yuffie had disappeared, not a trace left behind. At least they were making it difficult; an easy win wouldn't be as interesting. There was no doubt about it, the WRO **_were_** behind it.

So much for **_re_**_creating_ world peace . . . looks like they were _creating_ it now.

Why else would they kidnap the rightful ruler and heir to the Wutai throne?

The WRO _was_ guilty.

Yuffie _was_ with the WRO.

She **_was_** in Junon.

A smirk graced his features at the thought, nodding at the waiting engineer. "Initiate the program."

The engineer nodded, turning his back to Chekov. Wasting no time, he started shouting commands in Wutaiense, his eyes hard. "Initiate the program, this will end now and bring us one step closer to finding our missing Princess."

Chekov stepped back, a large smirk across his face as the engineer shouted, hands flying in expansive gestures as the other engineers ran between the machines, running from computer system to system.

It wouldn't be long now . . .

Shelke found the net dive into Wutai's database easily. She had to roll her eyes; Chekov had to make such a big fuss that it had been her that had infiltrated their database. But, he hadn't done anything to change his database system; there wasn't _any_ extra security activated or any sort of firewall to deep her out, hold her off.

So, within no time at all, Shelke had managed to get into the database's files and segments that were _supposed _to be for the Royal Family's eyes _only_.

She rolled her eyes; she doubted that Yuffie would care.

Away from her body, the projection of herself hung there, indecision on her face as she tried to decide where she should start, what was the most important piece.

The different routes stood before her; security, secret affairs, conference notes and many others. Not wanting to waste any of her time, Shelke moved towards the first route, she might as well know what they were up against.

Heading down the route, Shelke sighed. And she _thought_ this was going to be hard . . .

The projection of herself rolled her eyes, speeding down the route as it opened up to embrace her. Glancing around her, Shelke came to a stop in the middle of the chamber, reading the codes that whirled around before her, reaching a hand out to grab the important threads.

With her focus on the text in front of her, she didn't feel an ominous presence behind her. With her hands full of the text strands, pouring over the information there, she had managed to tune out the rest of her surroundings.

And, that was a **_bad_** idea. Didn't she _learn_ that when she was in Deepground?

But, the information . . . it was too important.

Wutai had a grand total of _one hundred_ soldiers.

Thirty of which had come to the main continent, looking for Yuffie.

Nibelheim, Wutai and Mideel were already checked.

Junon was suspected, six Wutai soldiers already there.

She found out the access code to the Pagoda's inner chambers.

The plan of attack should they locate Yuffie . . .

As she read that last line, a shiver went down her spine at the words, bringing her back to the presence. It was then she noticed it, prickling the back of her skin. Something, her inner instinct perhaps, told her that she wasn't there alone. Slowly, she turned around as a shadow fell over her small frame, the strands of text slipping from her lax grasp. Her mouth hung open as she frowned, her eyes locking on the thing behind her.

She blinked, unable to make a sound, as the thing unfurled itself, strands reaching out and holding her tight, squeezing her.

Then, as her world started to fade to black out, she let out a scream.

--

"Yuffie, you're **_finished_**!" Tifa said with a flourish, taking the towel of her head.

As Yuffie glanced up to see herself in the mirror, her hair falling down to her shoulder's from the confines of the green towel. Her mouth dropped as she caught sight of her hair, tentatively bringing a hand up to touch the coloured tendrils.

She didn't know what to say . . . she looked so . . . _different_ . . .

Her hair was no longer black but coloured a bright and vibrant yellow. She was _blonde_, it was weird looking at herself; she thought idly.

She didn't look like herself.

Yuffie's now blonde hair hung down, just brushing her shoulders. The cut had a bit of a shaggy look to it, as it was layered and had an edgy cut to the strands. Brown streaks wove through her hair, peaking out through some of the layers. Her long gone bangs were back as well, convincingly hiding her eyebrows, cresting her now blue eyes. She hadn't liked it when Tifa forced the contacts into her eyes, it felt weird.

She wouldn't have recognized herself if she hadn't know this was coming. But, she didn't think they would go so extreme. Yuffie found herself itching for her old, trademark headband to bring some of her old looks back.

"So, _what_ do you think?" Tifa asked, leaning over Yuffie's shoulders, moment's later. "It'll grow out when this is over, you know."

Marlene shook her head. "I **_love_** it! I wish dad would let me do something like that," she trailed off, rolling her eyes.

_Translation; he still thought of her as a little girl._

Yuffie nodded. "I am surprised, but I really like it."

A huge grin appeared on Tifa's face as she hugged Yuffie from behind. "That's great!"

Shera nodded in agreement, picking her items up from the dresser top. "You look _wonderful_, Yuffie. You look different, wait till everyone else sees you now."

Yuffie fidgeted at Shera's words, her eyes fixing on her hands. "I don't know about that –"

"You're _not_ staying in this room," Tifa huffed, hands on her hips as she leveled Yuffie with a glare. "They're going to be curious about your new look and all of our hard work!"

"What if they _don't_ like it?" she mumbled, running her fingers through her blonde locks.

Tifa scoffed. "They'll like it."

"After all our hard work, they better," Shera laughed hands full of her hair products.

Marlene just waved Yuffie's comment aside. "At least Vincent will like it."

"**_Marlene_** . . .!" Yuffie whined, glancing witheringly at Marlene who shrugged.

"It's true, he knows you'll still be you," Marlene grinned, grabbing Yuffie's hand, tugging on it. "I'm sure he'll like it, especially with those new clothes of yours!"

Yuffie smiled slightly, her mouth turning up in a grin. Her blue eyes glanced over her outfit; at least it was improved from the holey pajama's she had worn to Vincent's in the beginning. Marlene had picked the clothes out of the small pile they had brought with them, trying to find a suitable outfit for Yuffie, and her new hairstyle.

The pants they had given her were tight fitting, the bottoms flaring out slightly, which could have hide her feet from view. If, Tifa hadn't forced the small, platform sandal's onto her feet, the tops of them a vibrant blue. The colour of her top was similar to the vibrant blue, a square collar that showed off her pale skin with longer sleeves, the edges rough and flared out slightly.

Looking herself in the mirror, she noticed that Tifa and Marlene had stepped out of the room, most likely to give her a little bit of time to come to terms with the face in the mirror. Getting up out of the stool, Yuffie padded across the room – trying to get used to the small platforms – glancing at herself in the floor length mirror on the door.

As she took in her whole appearance, her breath caught in her throat.

That face, those clothes in the mirror, it just _wasn't_ her . . .

At least, _no_ one would recognize her outside the headquarters.

She had to shake her head at the transformation, it was a lot to take in.

When she had shown up in Nibelheim – was that _really_ just a week ago? – she was quiet and reserved, dressed in her old, worn out pajamas with an expression of having given up, and lost everything. Now, she was surrounded by her old friends who didn't intend to let her go without a fight, her confidence returning, and his face only appearing in her nightmares.

It was . . . _unnerving_.

"Yuffie!" She jumped at Tifa's voice, a knock sounding heavily on the back of the door. She managed to move back as the doorknob moved before it swung open. "C'mon already, everyone's waiting for you; Shera's already gone down," grasping Yuffie's arm, Tifa pulled the ninja from the room, ignoring the frown on the girl's face. "Marlene, let's go."

Yuffie rose as eyebrows as Marlene nodded, a smirk on her face as she started down the stairs, out of sight. She shook her head, they were going to take a big production out of her new looks, weren't they? She could see it in Tifa's eyes; yes, yes they were.

"They're all in the conference room, we don't want to keep them waiting," she laughed, starting down the stairs.

_Especially Vincent_, Tifa thought, shooting a side glance at Yuffie.

--

Shera frowned at the small group sitting around the big conference table. Beside her sat Cid, leaning back in his chair, talking animatedly to Barret, breaking into laughter now and again. Cloud didn't say much, his Mako eyes unfocused, his mind, no doubt, miles away. Vincent didn't react, his crimson eyes staring ahead, making Shera wonder idly what the gunslinger was thinking about.

"Reeve," she said, her brown eyes stopping on the Commander, the farthest from her, pointing to the cell phone in his hand. "Any luck yet?"

Reeve shook his head, a frown marring his features. "No, her phone is turned off. I don't know where she could have disappeared too."

"Hmm . . ." Shera trailed off.

"I told you, with a girl like her, you _should_ have put a _tracker_ on her," Cid said, glancing from Shera to Reeve. "She's like the brat used to be, but domineering to the **_extreme_**."

Shera glared at him, swatting him lightly. "Don't say that, that's rude."

Cid shrugged at Shera's comment, smirking slightly before he turned back to Barret, the darker man holding back a laugh. Shera rolled her eyes at her husband's response, before smiling over at Reeve.

It had been weird, Shelke hadn't been seen anywhere. The last time anyone remembered seeing Shelke at breakfast, but she had managed to disappear afterwards. They had thought she was out in the town, but after four hours and her phone being turned off . . . they didn't want to jump to conclusions, but maybe she was in trouble.

"Do you think she could have . . .?" They didn't want to mention the reality of the forgotten SND terminals.

Reeve snapped his phone shut, dropping it to the table. "No, she _promised_ me she wouldn't unless she mentioned it first . . ."

Shera could see the hesitation in the Commander's words. "But, with everything that's gone on," she pressed, "Don't you think she might have? You know she can be quiet stubborn."

Shera let out a sigh, shaking her head. "Maybe text her then?"

The automatic door whirled open then, cutting off Reeve's response. Marlene bounded into the room, all smiles, and her braided hair moving wildly with each step. "We're all finished!" she announced, although Shera had mentioned it no more then ten minutes previous. "Just you wait, she looks amazing!" she giggled as she crossed the room, dropping into the nearest chair.

Pulling her chair into the table. She cast her eyes around at the others. Reeve was staring at his cell phone, running his fingers over it. Cid was still leaning back in his chair, raising an eyebrow at Shera, who shook her head, smiling. Barret glanced at the door, a lazy grin on his face. Cloud was still looking at the door, his eyes unfocused, and his mind elsewhere. However she was happy to see Vincent's crimson eyes staring at the door, his face unable to be read.

In order to keep the suspense rising, Tifa took her sweet time coming into the room. As she eventually did, a smile on her full lips, wide eyes sparkling. "You'll never guess, you wouldn't recognize her if you past her on the streets! I give you the _new_ and –"

"Tifa!"

Tifa grinned at Yuffie's response; she sounded like Shelke during her first makeover. Yuffie's appearance might have changed, but not her fiery personality. "Aright then," she amended, smiling wirily as she rolled her eyes. "I give you the same old, crazy ninja –"

"AHH!"

Tifa cut off mid sentence, eyes wide at the sound. Cloud jumped, obviously not listening to what was going on in the room. Vincent's eyes narrowed as he reached for his hip holster, while Reeve went pale, his dark eyes narrowing, and his cell phone forgotten.

He shifted, glancing behind him, his mind recognizing that sound.

"That _was_ Shelke . . ."

--

Things are starting to get interesting in a hurry.

Something's up with Shelke and the twists are just starting to appear . . .

After this, things'll never be the same again.


	12. 12: One's Return

The morning sun streamed through the window, somehow managing to squeeze around the heavily drawn blind and curtains, lighting the room up slightly. The lone occupant in the room let out a groan as they rolled over in their bed, hoping that would keep the sun away. After a few moments, the move not helping in the slightest, they let out a groan, running a hand over their face.

It was _too_ early. Especially after everything and everywhere they'd been through.

With a groan, they moved to sit up. Their vision swam before them, making them blink to get used to the dimly lit room. "What time is it?"

Since the sun was streaming into his room, it was late – _early_ for him.

As he found the clock on the other side of the room, the illuminative red numbers stating that it was nearly twelve in the afternoon.

He blinked, realization setting in. With a snort, he shook his head as he through the covers back from his body. It had to have been nine o'clock in the morning then when she had phoned him. It was hard to believe that he had slept for another three hours after that.

But, that was what he deserved for staying up all night, _hunting_.

And from her words, everything had been in _vain_.

Sighing, shoving the conversation from her mind, he moved across the dim room, finding the closet in no time. Pushing the door open, he made little time getting changed. He quickly threw on a long sleeved slate coloured turtleneck, throwing his much abused khaki coloured vest over top of it with his usual, faded jeans still on – that's what he got for falling asleep in them.

Taking a deep breath as he opened his door, trying to frame what he would say to his comrades, the bland hallway of the hotel room stretching in front of him. A frown marred his features as he heard voices from the direction of the tiny kitchen, someone was laughing, while another spoke harshly. He rolled his eyes, no surprise the others were up before him.

Fixing his face into a blank stare, his mouth in a hard line, he closed the door behind him as he padded down the hallway. As the floor creaked underneath his weight the laughter in the other room stopped, the only sound to be heard then was the clanking of cutlery against plates. He idly wondered when he'd last laughed – it _had_ to have been a while ago, he thought.

His work now _serious_, and could be **_deadly_** if the cards changed.

Shaking his head out of his old thoughts, his features wasted no time returning to their usual blank stare as he made himself known, coming around the corner. Two pairs of eyes started up at him, cutlery frozen in hand, as they looked at him warily.

"Hurry up, we're_ leaving_."

The farthest at the table, a girl, rolled her eyes. "We _know_, we got to get out there and look for her. You've **_already_** told us that a MILLION times!'

"But," the male at the table interjected before more words were thrown. "We're going to eat first. Unlike you Denzel, we need to eat often."

Denzel sighed, rolling his eyes at his comrade's words. Crossing his arms, he leaned against the door jam, fixing the two with a glance. The male shrugged, leaning back in his chair as he moved his attention back to his plate. The girl, however, stared hauntingly back at him with her dark eyes, a scowl on her face.

"We're _moving_ to Junon."

"Why?"

"Yeah, we like, _just_ got here too!"

"Shut up Bridget, we don't want to hear your whining right now. There's a reason behind this, right Denzel?"

"You _jerk_," Bridget hissed, her dark eyes narrowing, her lunch forgotten. "You're just lucky that this table's –"

"Enough, _both_ of you shut up," Denzel cut in, his voice sharp as he pierced the two with a glare. "I have word – no, **confirmation** – that Yuffie Kisaragi is hiding within Junon."

The girl, Bridget scoffed, leaning back dangerously in her chair. "Please, Gerard and Sephera are _already_ there. Like _they'd_ need our help."

Denzel shook his head at her comment. "I have word right from the main source itself – Yuffie Kisaragi is in the _WRO headquarters_."

Bridget rolled her eyes, pointing her fork at him. "So, still talking to _Marlene_, huh?"

Denzel nodded, ignoring the triumphant smirk that Bridget had when she said Marlene's name. "But, she doesn't know what is going on – she's _not_ going to find out either."

"Well, at least you kept it from her," the male, Liam said with a shrug. "Without her knowing, she'll help to end this that much faster." He shook his head, glancing with a look of detest at Bridget. "I just hate all this drama."

Denzel forced back a smile while Bridget let out a grin, letting out a laugh. "Anyway, we're going to Junon. Get your stuff."

--

Yuffie couldn't help but fidget.

She frowned at Tifa, the bartender intent on drawing this silly ordeal out.

Letting out a sigh, Yuffie rolled her eyes. Who knew Tifa had gotten a knack for acting in her absence. Tapping her foot against the floor as she listened to Tifa speak, hoping to build their curiosity. Were they really _that_ curious? She frowned, they couldn't be.

Although in the back of her mind – she wondered what Vincent would think of her new look.

What _would_ his reaction be?

A frown marring her features, her eyes screwed up, she let out a sigh. She could picture everyone's response in her head, but, Vincent . . . it was an empty canvas. To her, she looked like someone she could _never_ be.

As she stood there, impatiently waiting for Tifa to finish, a shiver running up her spine in the anticipation and of the cool linoleum underfoot.

So much for being the '_best ninja ever_'; like this, she stood out WAY too much.

Catching her breath – that thought was almost completely _forbidden_ – she tethered on the edge of the door jam, waiting . . .

Then, her world quickly turned titled, falling off balance . . .

In no time, it felt like someone had dropped a bucket of water over her, her hands falling limply to her side. Although frozen, her mouth opened in a small 'o', shaking her head in denial as it was recognized as Shelke's voice.

Chairs scraped across the tiled floor.

Reeve's voice sounded above the others.

She heard him curse as he tried to punch in his access code.

On the third try, the automatic door whirled open to allow them entrance.

Then, it was just a flurry of voices. Yuffie shook her head, trying to block out the sounds that reached her ears. She didn't want to hear it, she was almost certain she knew what had happened . . .

As the door whirled open, Reeve pushed himself into the room, ignoring the others. Crossing the threshold, Reeve came to a stop at the sight before him – it was something he did _not_ want to see. In front of him, the old and dusty SND terminal was up and running, a hum running through the room while the metal dome above the chair was lit up, lights running rapidly across the sides.

What didn't escape his eyes, however, was that the metal dome hung high above the chair – a little too high, he noticed – obviously, it had been pushed out of the way. Not that any of the others would have noticed, they weren't around the strange terminal too often.

But, that _wasn't_ what made him run cold, frozen to the spot.

In the chair, slumped over the armrest, was Shelke.

The brunette was pale; her breathing slight and erratic, hand's brushing against the cold floor, fingers twitching from her dream. One of her feet hung over the edge of the chair, resting against the cold floor. By the way Shelke sat, she knew what was going to happen to her and had tried to get away from whatever was coming.

"Shelke, what did you do?" Reeve mumbled, coming to his senses as he moved to her side, falling to his knees before her. He frowned as he looked her over, unsure where to put his hands, eventually settling for resting them on her short hair. "Shelke, why would you do this?"

Tifa entered the room slowly, before all of the others, stopping behind Reeve, a hand over her mouth, surprised. Cloud came to a stop behind her, dropping his larger, gloved hand onto her shoulder. Tifa shook her head, not noticing Cloud beside her. "Why would she do this? She knew . . ."

"I think she knew it was the only way," Cloud mumbled with a frown, earning himself a dark glare from Tifa. "I mean, she knew how to get into Wutai's database; she could find out the stuff that Yuffie_ doesn't_ know or _won't_ tell us –"

"_Don't_ you pin all of this onto Yuffie," Tifa said, eyes flashing as they narrowed. "She doesn't need this being blamed on her, it is not her fault – right, Yuffie?"

Glancing behind her for the first time since she entered the small room, she frowned. No Yuffie in sight. She could see Cid and Barret framing the doorway with Shera between them, a look of horror across the woman's face. Red's fiery self had given him a wide berth from the group, the robotic Cait Sith sitting between his shoulder blades, his stitched face worried. Marlene had managed to squeeze between her father and the door jam, curious and she could see Vincent in the background. She shrugged as she looked away; Yuffie was most likely with him.

"Come on Reeve," Shera said, her maternal side taking over as she stepped away from the two men and closer to Reeve. She forced a smile, dropping a hand onto his shoulder. She didn't expect him to respond to her words as he moved his hands through the Tsviet's short hair. "Until we figure out what has happened with her, we should at least get her comfortable."

Reeve sighed, finally glancing away from Shelke to the brunette scientist standing behind him. He nodded slowly; "Thanks Shera."

Shera nodded, her smile looking less forced then before. She patted his shoulder as she turned on her heel, her mind elsewhere. "I'll get her room ready, bring her up, alright?"

Shera waved over as she moved swiftly between Cid and Barret, humming to herself in an attempt to hide her worry. Reeve sighed as he moved to stand up, giving him a better view of the Tsviet's prone body. How could this have happened to her? They were always so careful – Shelke above everyone else.

--

Yuffie's breath caught as she leaned back against the white washed walls. Considering what was happening in the other room, the white walls suddenly looked more clinical then a headquarters. She ran a pale hand underneath her eyes, tears starting to well up behind her blue contacts.

It was all **_her_** fault.

She shook her head, slowly sliding down the wall, hitting the floor roughly.

From what she could understand; Shelke had collapsed.

The Tsviet has managed to get into the Wutai database and Chekov knew that.

Chekov had suspected her when they were all back in Nibelheim – and he put everyone on alert in case of another hack.

Something – she didn't_ know_ what – had been waiting in the wings.

Waiting for Shelke to return, searching for anything pertaining to the Wutai Royal Family.

Yuffie bit down on her lip, shaking her head. She didn't want to think about that sort of thing right now.

All she was doing by being around was putting her friends and comrades in danger.

"I shouldn't have come here, I should have_ stayed_ back in Wutai," she mumbled, pushing herself up from the ground, away from the wall.

_Or even to Nibelheim_, she thought, running her hands up her arms.

Her head swirled with all the thoughts of everything that had happened, her mind returning back to the gunslinger.

_Her escape, Vincent, WRO's arrival, Chekov, Vincent's room, her makeover, Vincent's reaction_ . . . _Vincent, **Vincent**, _Vincent . . .

"Maybe I should just go back –"

"We'd just come after you."

Yuffie paused, her mind going blank as she slowly looked back over her shoulder. In the white washed hallway, she could distantly hear the muted babble in the other room, but her now blue eyes were watching his every moment, a couple feet from her.

"But this is my entire fault, Shelke . . ."

Vincent shook his head. "Shelke knew what she was doing."

"It's not the same! You know that she went into the Wutai database!" Yuffie shook her head, slowly stepping closer to Vincent; one hand over her heart, the other balled up into a fist. "You heard what Chekov said at your place – he knew it was her again!"

Vincent shook his head, closing the difference between him and Yuffie as he dropped a hand onto her shoulder, "Listen to me Yuffie. Shelke knew what she was up against when she decided to do this. She did this because she wanted to, she _wanted_ to help you. For this to happen to her, she must have found out something that they didn't want her to know. Maybe it was something that even you –"

Yuffie's eyes flashed, her old spark coming back as she knocked Vincent's hand off her shoulder. "I'm the **_ruler_** of Wutai – I know everything!"

Vincent glanced down at her, holding her gaze, eyebrows raised. Yuffie fidgeted underneath that stare – she hated it when he did that to her; it made her feel like she was a little girl all over again. "Do you?" he asked. "Chekov seems to be able to do a good job without you – you were _dead_. Did he really tell you everything he did?"

Yuffie's response died in her throat. Did she know everything? How often did she actually leave the Pagoda? She glared up at Vincent, hands on her hips. Why was it that his words always made her rethink her plans? She gritted her teeth together. "Either way, you shouldn't be doing this for me. Shelke's unconscious, you were run out of Nibelheim and . . . look at me . . ."

Vincent smiled slightly, crimson eyes taking in the strange – but familiar – girl, woman in front of him. "You look different," he shook his head. "Although, nice, good, different," he tried to amend, her glare fierce.

Yuffie smiled wirily. "_Different_ – I'm not even myself, huh?"

"Shera's coming," he said, dropping his hand from her shoulder, unsure how to answer her last question. "Let's go for a walk, alright?" he said, sweeping by her, leaving the Wutai heir in the hall.

"Hey!" she called, starting after him. "You could at least wait up, you know."

--

Marlene frowned as she sat idly at the kitchen table now, drumming her fingers against the top, her legs swinging back and forth underneath the chair. She was the _exact_ picture of complete boredom.

Why did she have to be the only one with nothing to do? And she had thought the WRO would be _anything_ but boring.

After they had found Shelke unconscious at her SND dive, everything had changed in a hurry. Shera was fussing over Shelke, her room buzzing with people. Reeve had finally been kicked out of the room by Shera, stating he wasn't helping her any. It hadn't taken him long to retreat into the Conference Room with Tifa, Cloud, Cid and Barret – the latter kicking her out of the room.

_As if she didn't know what was going on in there_, she thought, rolling her eyes.

She hadn't been able to find Yuffie and Vincent anywhere although they were around her somewhere, but they had a lot to talk about, she supposed.

So, there she sat in the large kitchen, feeling small, no one around.

Her eyes gazed over; she jumped, blinking as her cell phone started to play her familiar ring tone, vibrating against the table. A small smile appeared of her features as she snatched the phone off the table. Maybe, just maybe something interesting could be on the way. As she opened the phone, she frowned; it was only a text message. That wasn't very interesting. As her eyes roved over the small screen, the edges of her lips turned up into a small smile.

_Marlene – bck in twn, c u soon_.

'Denzel's back!" she couldn't help but grin – she hadn't seen him for about six months now.

This had to mean that he was in Junon, or at least on his way. He had to come by and see her! Something _always_ happened when Denzel was around. Moving her fingers across the keypad, she wrote a quick response stating that she was bored stiff and that he **_had_** to come by and see her. Sending the message, she put the phone back down on the table, staring at the wall in blank amusement, or boredom, her feet swinging absently beneath her.

She didn't have to wait for too long though – half an hour maybe? She was forced out of her thoughts when she heard someone's familiar voice in the hallway, their footsteps echoing in the long corridor. Her eyes perking up, she jumped out of the chair, a silly grin on her face. She'd know that voice _anywhere_!

"Denzel!" she called, as she left the kitchen, stopping in the hallway. Her grin grew bigger as she saw the brunette male a couple doors down. "Welcome back!"

Moving quickly down the hallway, intent on hugging the male, she fumbled to a stop, as she spotted two other people behind Denzel. As she stopped, walking the rest of the way to him, she fought down a blush that she was sure was trying to make itself known. She had been so excited to have Denzel back that she didn't notice he had _brought_ people with him. As she stopped before Denzel, she reached forward to give him a hug, ignoring the two people watching them intently. The hug felt stiff to her and didn't last long.

"Hey Marlene," he said when he let her go. "Long time no see."

"Yeah, really, Denzel," she drawled. "Couldn't you have at least called me once?"

Denzel grinned at her, draping an arm across her shoulders, pulling her closer to him, his other hand messing up her hair. "How could I forget my best girl?"

Marlene grinned widely, trying _again_ to fight her blush down. "So, who're your friends?"

She looked intently at the two of them; she'd never seen them before. She knew everyone associated with the WRO and she and Denzel had all the same friends. _Obviously_, she thought wrong.

"Oh," Denzel said as he dropped his arm from her shoulder, glancing back at the two with him. "This is Liam and Bridget. I met them out on the road, they were interested in the WRO – well, Liam is at least."

Marlene nodded, agreeing with Denzel. Liam, with his dark hair pulled back in a short ponytail, looked interestedly around the room, taking it all in. Bridget, on the other hand, looked utterly bored as she looked around, chewing bubblegum. Marlene could tell she was forced to be here, when she'd rather be far away. Marlene didn't think she'd be able to get along with the light haired girl.

"Nice to meet you, Marlene," Liam said, breaking her out of her thoughts, hand outstretched to hers. "Denzel had told us all about you."

Marlene grinned, her eyes flickering from Denzel to Liam, skipping over Bridget altogether. She nodded as she held Liam's gaze, shaking his hand. "It's nice to meet you too Liam – you to Bridget."

"Uhuh," was the girls' response, looking anywhere but ahead.

Marlene raised an eyebrow at the reaction – talk about _rude_. Denzel shook his head as Marlene looked at him, confused. "Just ignore Bri, she'd much rather be outside, right?" Bridget set him a hauntingly look. "But she doesn't know Junon very well, do you?"

"Oh, okay . . ." Marlene shrugged, by now she had lost interest in the other girl. As her stomach rumbled, she shrugged, heading back towards the kitchen. "Everyone else is so busy right now, I'm really glad that you stopped by, Denzel. Something happened to Shelke, so everyone's worried about her and trying to figure out what even happened to her," she commented, trying not to give too much away as she busied herself trying to make a half-decent lunch. "Even _Vincent's_ here too, isn't that great? I think he's gone out though. And now you're here, we've got everyone back at once."

_Even Yuffie_, she thought, although she didn't voice it.

Something told her that with the other two around, Yuffie _shouldn't_ be mentioned.

"What's up with Shelke?" Denzel commented, following after Marlene, dropping into the nearest chair.

Marlene shook her head, bowls and cupboard doors banging and clinking as she tried to busy herself. "It's a really long story, I'll tell **_you_** later. Say, do you want anything to eat?"

Denzel shook his head as Liam and Bridget took a seat on either side of him. "Nah, we all ate before we came."

Marlene nodded as she joined the group at the table, her pate clanging down against the wood. Sitting down heavily, she shot a grin at the three. "So, what have you guys been up to? Where'd you all meet?"

She watched the three in front of her closely as the shot each other a wide variety of glances. Marlene's eyes narrowed as she watched the three of them, an eyebrow raised. It made her suspicious. "Well, it's a long story too," Denzel eventually said.

"I have time," Marlene shrugged, bringing her sandwich to her lips.

She noticed _another_ awkward look between the three, obviously, for some reason, they were uncomfortable. "Well . . ." Denzel laughed awkwardly. "Where on Gaia do we start? It's _hardly_ interesting you know, Marlene?"

Marlene's eyes narrowed. He was stalling, hiding something from her. "I'm bored anyway, so hurry up."

Denzel closed his eyes momentarily, taking a deep breath. "Alright, well . . ."

--

So, Shelke's down and out and Denzel's back in town.

Oh, I started a soundtrack for this story as well. Unlike _Fly_ with it's pop soundtrack -- this time, it is all more of a rock sound.


	13. 13: Stories

_One week later_

--

To anyone on the outside the familiar beckon of light the Pagoda was to the residents of Wutai, would not recognize the building once they stepped inside. Everything that the late Lord Godo had put in place had been torn down. Instead of being a dojo of sorts for the _ninjas_ of the town, it had turned into a command center.

In the top most floor; Chekov stood in the middle of the room, lounging in a chair off the main room, his desk in front of him. His dark eyes narrowed as a light knock sounded against the heavy wood, a grumble escaping his lips as he glanced up from the glowing screen in front of him.

"Enter."

The door squeaked open, allowing the lone man to enter. Chekov glanced at the man, his annoyance at being interrupted to be placed on the back burner. For someone to bother him, they must know something . . .

"What is it? I am expecting a phone call shortly."

The man nodded, bowing to the lord sitting before him, the door closing behind him. "My Lord, it has been a week since you demanded that we forgo all the other major cities to focus solely on Junon. I may be speaking out of term . . . but, was that wise? We are –"

"She **_is_** there."

The man nodded. "But sir, see reason here; by focusing on only one city –"

"The largest of the entire Western Continent, headquarters of the WRO, I assume?"

The man nodded again, his face going warm. He wasn't used to being spoken down to. "Yes, Junon, my lord. I merely think that by focusing on there alone, we are giving Mrs. Kisaragi a better chance to escape." Chekov allowed a grin to appear on his features, but waved his hand to signal him to keep talking. "With what happened with the Tsviet, they will start piecing everything together."

_Exactly_, Chekov thought with a smirk.

This was _going_** exactly** according to his plan.

Yuffie would not be able to run forever – all he had to do was play the right cards.

Noticing the head of affairs had stopped speaking, looking, waiting patiently for his next words. Chekov forced down the urge to roll his eyes. This people looking for Yuffie didn't know her as well as they thought they did.

"Yuffie will not run from Junon."

"But sir –"

"Her friends are there. With them she gets stronger. She'll want to prove herself – she _always_ does. She will come to us."

"Then sir, why are we doing all this?"

Chekov shook his head, that piece of information, was on a _need-to-know_ basis. "We will find out within time, now, won't we?" After a moments pause, the head of affairs fidgeted under Chekov's dark and piercing stare. "Was there anything else you wanted to tell me?"

Startled, the man stood up straight, shaking his head. "No my Lord, I was just wondering . . ."

"Then you're dismissed," Chekov cut him off, waving his hand to ward him off. "I have important matters that need my attention. You are only to disturb me if there is a break through with finding my wife."

The man nodded, bowing out of the room. Secretly glad to be away from the Wutai Rulers haunting stare. As the door closed shut behind him, he let out a loud breath, and as he picked up with discarded clipboard, he wasted no time in calling out his new batch of instructions, intent on finding the dark haired woman.

From inside the room, Chekov's smirk grew as the door clicked shut, locking. His dark eyes moved back to the screen, intently reading the short letter he had gotten from his subordinates.

He _knew_ they were the right bunch to send – they wouldn't fail him.

And, they certainly didn't disappoint, having _already_ found his query.

_Found Kisaragi – hiding out in the WRO headquarters, mostly with Lockheart and Valentine. _

_Awaiting further orders, my Lord_.

And with the short email came an attachment.

The picture was obviously taken by a camera phone, the subject not even knowing the photo had been taken.

Even with the short blonde hair and light make up adorning her delicate features – he'd know _that_ stance anywhere.

Yuffie Kisaragi _had_ been **found**.

"You did not disappoint," he muttered to himself, hands moving across the keyboard to reply. "I expected no less from you . . ."

--

Bridget let out a groan from behind the newspaper she was vaguely looking at, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. The WRO was _so_ boring.

"Where's Denzel?" she huffed, throwing the paper down, nothing good in it anyway. "How can you _not _be bored, Liam? I'm so bored. I mean, wouldn't you think that they would be doing something interesting for once? Geez, they're all over the news doing whatever it is they do – but, _c'mon_ they haven't even left the building since we got here!" Shaking her head, she propped her chin in one hand and she drummed her fingers against the table. "You'd _think_ something interesting would be happening here – **_seriously_**!"

Liam rolled his eyes at her rant, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes. If there was one thing Bridget was good at, was ranting about whatever it was in front of them. "Then go entertain yourself, something's probably going on somewhere."

Bridget sighed; her fingers stopped drumming as she crossed her legs, sinking deeper into the chair. "Why couldn't Gerard and Sephera come with us? At least Gerard has a sense of humor . . ."

Liam _hmmed _in response, not rising to the bait like Bridget wanted. "They'd stand out too much," he shook his head, closing the subject before it opened. "I think they've moved on anyway –"

"What?" Bridget stopped, sitting up straight, dark eyes narrowed. "Why'd they _leave _and **why** didn't you tell me?"

Liam glanced away from the window he was staring out, six floors above the large metropolis. "It never came up in conversation." In truth, Denzel didn't want Bridget near them, protective jerk.

"They're my friends; and Gerard . . ." Bridget stopped, shaking her head slightly. "Anyway, I should have been told – where are they going now?"

"Costa del Sol, maybe? Maybe Rocket Town, they didn't really say. Denzel knows, he spent a while on the phone with Gerard last night."

Bridget's mouth fell open. "Denzel _spoke_ to him? Where was _I_ then?" Liam shrugged. "This is so . . . so . . . so like him! Where is that jerk?"

Liam sighed; he hated confrontation – especially if Bridget was in on it. "He's gone out for the day, you know, to catch up on what's been going on in his absence."

Bridget, hand on the doorknob, froze. Her eyes narrowed to the point that they started to blaze, glaring hauntingly at the male. "He's with **_her_**? With that _Marlene_?"

Liam sighed, shaking his head at her harsh tone. He knew _why_ she would be jealous of Marlene – having known Denzel, and grown up in the same house, since they were six or seven – but it was pointless in his opinion. Marlene and Denzel had grown apart, even if Marlene didn't notice it completely. Denzel had changed since he joined up with the WRO, matured quicker into the harsh reality. Marlene, it seemed, still lived in her perfect world.

"Yes, he's with Marlene – he _doesn't_ want to lose her as a friend, she means too much to him."

"And us? What are we – his lackey's and grunts until this is over?"

"You're jumping to conclusions," Liam stated, picking up the newspaper she had thrown in anger moments previous. "They are friends, plain and simple. Get over it, Bridget. Denzel is Denzel."

"I don't like her – she knows him _too_ well, she'll see through it. That _girl_ will be the death of us, you do know where we are, right?" She held her hand up, ignoring the look Liam sent at her. "My god, it's sarcasm, you're too serious. If she suspects something, everything is going to go down, right? I can see it in their eyes – they don't trust us."

Liam shrugged, half listening to the red head's words. "Why would they trust us? They don't know us from the next person on the street."

Bridget scoffed, wrenching their bedroom door open. "I want to be out of here as soon as possible, you understand. Tell him to hurry up with Marlene, this isn't some _stupid_ trip down memory lane," she shook her head, letting out a deep breath, glancing down the hallway. "I'm going out – Gerard and Sephera are here somewhere. I just . . . ugh, I can't stand here any longer."

As the bedroom door closed behind Bridget, Liam let out a sigh, running his hand through his hair. Nothing interesting in his paper, he tossed it aside as he stood up with a stretch. Denzel might ruin everything if his façade slipped a fraction, but Bridget's wild temper, and bout of jealousy, it seemed more likely that she could ruin everything they needed.

"Stupid girl," he muttered, crossing silently across the room. He wished they had Sephera instead of Gerard, she was more calm and collected then her wildly tempered sister. "This is going to be _harder_ then suspected . . ."

--

Tifa frowned from where she sat at the conference table, arms crossed over her chest. She narrowed her wine coloured eyes, sinking down slightly in her chair. Just being here, the most important people of the WRO all in one room, with Denzel's _friends_ running around unattended, she had a bad feeling. She didn't feel anything bad coming from the two, if anything, Liam seemed quiet interested to be here, taking in everything. However, the girl – _Bridget_ was it? – seemed standoffish, and . . . well, strange in her opinion.

Something _was_ up, she knew that.

She knew that – and her female intuition was hardly ever wrong.

Her wine coloured eyes raked across the table, Cloud and Barret on either side of her, all the way to the now-blonde Yuffie sitting beside Vincent, her eyes calculating.

Denzel had returned mere hours after Shelke had been deemed comatose and Yuffie had been made over.

Perhaps, it _had_ been a good thing they had gotten Yuffie changed in time . . .

Besides the group circling the table, no one else knew that Yuffie was within the WRO building.

_Well, except Marlene_, she thought, but dismissed the thought.

It was something about those two – she just _couldn't_ trust them.

"We're at a stand still," Reeve said, the words cutting through Tifa's thoughts. Blinking, she raised an eyebrow as she glanced over at Reeve. What was it they were talking about? "We haven't been able to figure out what is wrong with Shelke, all we know is that something happened to her when she was doing the SND dive."

Tifa, her attention on Reeve, her eyebrows pulled together as she frowned, missed the look that past between Yuffie and Vincent. If she had been watching, she would have seen Yuffie shoot Vincent a sharp look, her eyes almost pleading with him about something. While, Vincent on the other hand, held her gaze, crimson eyes piecing through her. Yuffie's eyes narrowed as she glared at him before turning her head, looking anywhere but at him.

But, she needn't worry, from across the table, Shera shook her head, trying to force back a smile.

"We all know where she went too," Barret grumbled, leaning back in his chair. "She went to Wutai. Whatever the problem with her is – Wutai did it."

"Barret!" Tifa hissed, elbowing the darker man roughly in the ribs. She narrowed her eyes intensely, a _subtle_ suggestion that he shut up.

Barret shrugged, shaking Tifa off. "I'm just saying . . ."

Reeve sighed, shaking his head. "We don't know for sure where she went, although that is a large possibility," Slowly, he looked over at Yuffie, the ninja's face pulled down in a frown, arms crossed over her chest. "Yuffie, _do_ you know what is happening? Anything, any idea at all?"

Her now blue eyes looked over at Reeve, holding his gaze. "No, I don't," she shook her head, defeat in her eyes. "Chekov, he wasn't really one for sharing information he knew. When he took control of the throne, he slowly started to distance himself from me, but I didn't realize it at first.. I _was_ only a figure head anyway, a way to get to the throne. I don't know what it was he had planned in a case like this," Yuffie took in a breath, before looking at the group in front of her, looking at each of them in turn. "All I **can** tell you is that he knows as much about you as I do . . . he will do _whatever_ it takes to get all of you out of the way. Without a doubt, I believe he knows I'm here with you all."

Reeve blinked as he stared at her, Yuffie hadn't spoken much – especially about what had happened. Tifa smiled at the ninja, her mind whirling as she glanced over at Shera, nodding to the brunette. Barret let out a sigh as he leaned back in his chair again as Cid fished his cigarette pack from his jacket pocket, fumbling with his lighter.

"So, what you're trying to tell us is that Chekov won't rest till we're dead and you're back in your little ivory dungeon," he summarized, taking a drag on his cigarette. "You always did like to _bring_ trouble," he shook his head, his smirk appearing on his features. "He can't be that hard to beat anyway, not _after_ Sephiroth, Meteor, Kadaj and Deepground, just another wacko in the cards."

Yuffie let out a grin, forcing down a laugh. "Probably true . . ."

"_Probably_?" Barret picked up on the operative word. "What the hell, you better start explaining all this brat," narrowing his eyes, he glared at the smaller girl on the other side of the table. "I don't want to hear _any_ more of your vague, loophole words. You're _either_ **with** us _or_** against** us. Which is it?"

"Barret!"

"You know its true Teef. She's been spouting all this stuff about he knows this, he'll do that, you're as _sick_ of this as I am."

Tifa's response died in her throat, leaving the bartender speechless. Yuffie's narrowed eyes moved from Barret – who she expected it from – to Tifa; the brunette looking anywhere but at her. Letting out a sigh, Yuffie shook her head. "I see you're all talking about me behind my back, guess something's do change after all these years."

Tifa's eyes snapped up, holding Yuffie's narrowed gaze now. "Damn it, we want to help you. You know what's going on in Wutai, if only a fraction. We _need_ to know this if you want our help. We can only do so much blindfolded like this. What are we up against?"

Yuffie sighed, closing her eyes momentarily. "You _really_ want to know?" She didn't expect an answer, shrugging when she didn't get one. "Chekov knows a lot about you guys. He's seen you all on the news a bunch of times, he seemed . . . _obsessed_, that might be the right word, with everything WRO," she shook her head, holding up her hand to stop the comments she could see in her friends eyes. "Don't worry, Chekov knows next to nothing about the WRO – that was one secret he never managed to get out of me."

"What did he get out of you then?" Barret commented, ignoring her raised hand.

"Not much," Yuffie shrugged, noticing that it was next to impossible to bluff her way out this time. "At first, he wanted to know all about you guys. It all started a week before the surprise party Tifa had planned for –"

"We _didn't_ go through with it," Tifa said quietly, shaking her head as she glanced at Yuffie. "It wouldn't have been the same without you."

"Thanks Tifa," Yuffie said with a small smile, locking eyes with the bartender. "But, that was when it all started, a week before. As you all already know; my father was dying and he called me to his private chambers, wanting to ask me if I would do something to protect Wutai. He knew it before I said anything; he knew that I _wouldn't_ say no, I said yes right off the bat, no questions asked. I tried to refute when I found out, but," Yuffie let out a laugh. "_That_ worked wonderfully."

"Yuffie what –"

Cloud shook his head, resting his hand on Tifa's shoulder. "Just let her talk it out, I doubt you've ever spoken about this, huh Yuffie?"

Yuffie nodded again, her eyes dropping to the hands in her lap, twisting them together. "Anyway, I told him that I wasn't missing the party and that he _couldn't_ stop me. That was, well, that was the first night we got into a fight – _and_ it was the first time that I ever lost."

Tifa's eyes flashed, the comment on her lips dying as Cloud squeezed her shoulder. She shook her head, but leaned back in her chair anyway, a frown on her face. Down the table however, Shera shot a glare back at Cid, daring him to stop her, as she looked back at Yuffie. "What happened?"

Yuffie smiled ruefully. "Simple, I lost. Chekov turned into his Omni God form and well, since I didn't have _all_ the materia – seriously guys, the _Chocobo Summon_, that did wonders. Although the cure was mastered, heh, I quickly ran out of magic and since I wasn't on the road, I didn't have my bag of tricks on me. I only managed to be cunning for so long, and then," Yuffie shrugged. "He beat me."

"He _beat_ you?!" Tifa shouted, shoving Cloud's hand off her in anger. "Damn it, I'm going to _kill_ him myself. Is that what the text message was about? Augh, Vincent, we should have forced our way into that house!"

Yuffie let out a laugh, shaking her head. "We were fighting Tifa, just like all those years in the Pagoda. It was the same thing."

Their eyes locked, Tifa nodded slowly, falling back in her chair. "If you say so . . ." But from the look in Tifa's eyes, it was far from over.

"Anyway, continue," Cloud said, waving his hand at Yuffie as if the interruption never happened.

Yuffie smiled slightly, but avoided Tifa's gaze, no matter how much the bartender stared intently, hauntingly at her. "After I got beaten, well, he started to be more dominating. Since he had beaten me at my own game, he said that it showed that males were the most dominant sex. I got so mad; I started blurting things about you guys. That I'd helped Vincent recover from his own _problems_ with Lucrecia and Hojo – you've got to admit it, I did that _like_ singlehandedly. Unfortunately, that opened up the flood gates . . . he wanted to know more about you guys."

"And you _told_ him?" Barret said, barely interested. "How like you, your mouth talks faster then your brain."

"You weren't there," Yuffie mumbled, sinking down in her chair. "You've never spoken to him, have you? Chekov can be . . . persuasive when he wants to be. I didn't tell him much at first; just that you were my friends, was looking forward to the surprise party and just small details. I remember talking a lot about Aeris, and chasing Cait around the Golden Saucer with the Keystone and breaking into the Deepground underground, fun stuff like that. Unfortunately, that was the beginning of the end."

"Just get to the point already," Barret grumbled, leaning on his palm down, boredom in his eyes. "Enough of this beating around the bush crap."

"Exactly as I said, the beginning of the end. Hearing everything I did, everything my father said behind my back and all the times I appeared on the news with Vincent and Reeve; he told me that I wouldn't be going anywhere without an escort. The thought of bringing _him_ to the party made me want to gag. Anyway, I guess a long story short – we fought over that as well, and I lost, lost everything. After a while, the only thing I really had left was my cell. That's why I messaged Tifa, when you and Vinnie showed up, I swear, I'd never felt so happy. Granted, then he took my cell and did _I-don't-know-what _to it. Things just got worse after that and then," Yuffie shrugged, glancing at everyone around the table in turn, stopping when she met Vincent's crimson ones. "Then I ran away, I knew you would help me . . . all of you," she amended, glancing around.

Tifa was speechless, blinking at Yuffie, noticing that Yuffie wasn't telling _everything_ that had happened during her . . . _imprisonment_ it seemed. Curiosity gnawed on her mind, wanting to know what she _still_ wasn't telling them. Biting down on her lip, she stole a side look over at Shera, a calculating look in the scientist's eyes. Cloud had a frown on his features, while Barret leaned back in his chair and Cid took another drag on his cigarette.

"Well then," Reeve said, eventually breaking the silence. "That helps us know a little bit what we are up against. Chekov and the Royal Guard of Wutai know what they're up against to an extent. They know who we are and what we are capable of on our own. But, they don't know completely how the WRO work on the inside, so we _can_ use that to our advantage. We just _have_ to be more careful not to do what they would expect us to," Glancing momentarily at the others, who nodded, he shifted his glance to Yuffie. "And Yuffie, if you have **_any_** information, you will let us know, right?"

Yuffie nodded without a second thought. She didn't _want_ any of her friends to fall for any more of her _husband's_ – she cringed at the thought of that – dirty, underhanded tricks. She didn't want _anyone_ becoming just like Shelke – lying upstairs in a comatose state over something Wutai had done. "Just . . . I need some time to think."

Reeve nodded, a sympathetic look on his face. After three years of keeping all her thoughts inside of her, it had to have been hard trying to all the sudden find words for everything. "I think we should all take some time to think, the Holiday's are right around the corner – no doubt from all our current problems, we've been slacking on a couple other things."

Tifa sighed, she _did_ still have a lot of shopping to do, it right around the corner now. But, before that, she had _one_ more thing to do – a one-on-one chat with Yuffie. There _had_ to be something she could only tell a girl, something not even Vincent knew. She frowned, shaking her head as the chairs started to scrap against the floor, everyone moving, heading out of the cramped conference room.

Deep in thought, she jumped when she felt a hand fall onto her shoulder. Looking behind her, she grinned when she noticed Shera. "Yuffie's hiding something."

"I know," Shera nodded in agreement. "You could tell, she told us what she knew, but, she was _guarded_. I think we should have –"

"A one-on-one chat with her?" Tifa commented, pushing her chair back, a grin on her features. "I was actually thinking the same thing."

"Good," Shera said, moving across the carpeted floor, the only two in the room now. "We can do that and finish our shopping at the same time. Let's go find her."

Tifa snorted, shaking her head. "Like we _don't_ know where she'll be."

Shera shrugged, heading towards the stairwell at the end of the hallway. "That just means it won't take as long to find her."

--

Yuffie sighed, leaning against the elevator wall, not in the mood to listen to the happy melody streaming through the speakers.

If they were going to try and defeat Chekov, they _would_ lose. Somehow, obviously he knew more then he actually had let on – he was managing to beat them at their own game.

She didn't want to know why he was doing this, but it was obvious. To her at least.

He had gotten to Shelke, he _had_ known it was her in the first place. What a better place to start anyway . . . the intelligence operative. With herself out of Wutai and Shelke out of the picture, they wouldn't know what was going on in the oriental country now. They wouldn't know Wutai's next plan, where they were heading, where they had already swept through . . . and if they knew where she was.

All that had _died_ with Shelke.

And she was to blame.

"Yuffie."

Her head snapped up, the frown not leaving her features as she glanced up. Crimson met Blue (she _couldn't_ wait to get back to the rooms, she hated these contacts) and she let out a sigh, dropping her eyes. "What is it Vincent?"

"You didn't tell them everything, why?"

Inwardly, she wanted to curse him, he always had to start with the hard questions, didn't he?

_He hasn't changed at all_, she thought idly. He seemed to be the only one who hadn't changed somewhat.

"They didn't need to know . . . I know what I'm doing."

The elevator dinged then, announcing that it had reached the desired floor, drowning out Yuffie's last words. Without looking at Vincent, she pushed herself off the wall, leaving the elevator behind her. She didn't have to look behind her to know that Vincent was following her, his crimson eyes boring holes into her no doubt. She knew he had heard what she'd said.

He remained silent as they walked down the hallway, a couple feet behind the now blonde haired girl. He couldn't get used to her new style – it _didn't_ look like her, which Tifa was after in the first place. Yuffie looked more like someone from some magazine, not real. It vaguely registered in his head – Yuffie had been spending a majority of her spare time sitting on his couch, saying whatever came to mind – so when she stopped in front of his door waiting for him to catch up, he didn't think anything about it.

Stopping beside her, he found the small key from his pocket, the door unlocking before him as he pushed the door open. A slight smile appeared on Yuffie's painted features as she pulled the small key from the doorknob, wandering into the room. Used to the room, Yuffie crossed the carpeted floor to the kitchen table, dropping the key on it as Vincent closed the door, turning on the light.

Locking the door, Vincent turned around, surprised to find Yuffie standing in the doorway to the living room, her eyes darting from him to the floor, biting down on her lip. Vincent raised an eyebrow, she was planning something. He sighed, as he glanced at the ninja, holding her gaze as he slowly crossed the room, stopping before her.

"What are you planning, Yuffie?"

"You know I'm the only one who _can_ stop him, Vince. You know as well as I do, he _won't_ stop this until I'm back on Wutai soil!"  Yuffie shook her head, her look desperate. "I _have_ to do something."

Vincent glanced at her, resisting the urge to shake his head at her claims. "Why do you want to go back there? You ran away from there for the same reason."

Vince, I . . . I _have_ to, you don't understand! He's not going to stop whatever mental list he's following. This is my entire fault!"

"Because you came to us for help, or is it because of what you told him?"

"Both!" Yuffie shouted, her hands balling into fists, unballing them and interlocking her fingers in front of her. Shaking her head, she started to pace in the small doorway, rapidly speaking to herself in Wutai.

"Yuffie . . ." She didn't seem to hear him, her look desperate again. Taking a breath, he reached out for the ninja, stopping her when she past by. She looked up at him, momentarily having forgotten he was in the room, eyebrows raised. He shook his head, hands resting on her shoulders, holding her in place. "Why are you taking all of this on yourself, you didn't ask for this."

"It all started with me! I told Chekov about all of you, you won't be able to stop him. Hiding behind the WRO front won't help; he knows you won't stay there forever. He's smart and cunning . . . and . . ." Yuffie shook her head, trying not to show weakness as water welled up in her eyes. "I did this to everyone. I _need_ to fix it."

Vincent sighed, Yuffie was still hardheaded. That seemed to be the only thing about her that _hadn't_ changed. As he felt the girl wrap her arms around his chest, her shoulder's shaking slightly, he slowly wrapped his arms around her tiny frame.

"You're not going back there," he muttered, running his hand through her shorter hair, his clawed hand holding her tight. "We'd _just_ come after you anyway."

Yuffie let out a slight laugh, pulling away from Vincent long enough to brush the wetness from her face. "I knew you would," she smiled, closing her eyes momentarily; she glanced up, holding his gaze intently with hers. "But after what happened to Shelke, I _don't_ want to think what could happen to the rest of you . . . _especially_ you. Vincent, I . . . I meant what I told you back in Nibelheim."

Vincent paused for a moment, frowning as he thought back to her short time in Nibelheim. That felt so long ago now, what with everything that had happened.

_"I _can't_ . . . I _shouldn't_ be here . . . I have to go, I'm sorry."_

_"If Chekov _does_ come for me – I'll just go home with him. I – I just want to do what _**I**_ want for once . . ."_

_"I always _knew_ you'd help me . . . that's – that's why I **always** loved you."_

_I always loved you_? Vincent blinked as he remembered, glancing down at the ninja. Yuffie was looking at the floor, her hands behind her back, biting down on her lip. "Yuffie, you . . ."

He _couldn't_ say it. Yuffie was married. Lucrecia had been married. He _had _had feelings for the both of him. It was the_ exact_ same story, thirty years later.

Yuffie chanced a look at him, frowning when she saw his face, coming to the same conclusion as him. "It's like I told you before Vince; I'm _not_ Lucrecia. Lucrecia, somehow, loved Hojo. I ran away from Chekov to find you. It's not the same, it's not."

"Yuffie," Vincent said, trying to find the right words. "We can't. No matter how _you_ feel, you are still married. I won't go through it again."

"After?" Yuffie said, her voice no more then a whisper as she picked up on the operative word. "I ran away, I'm not going back there to stay. I . . . that's why I came after you! _You_ were all I thought of all that time!"

Vincent blinked, silent. Yuffie what? He hated to say it, but the ninja's words, made him silent. "Yuffie . . ."

"No! Don't _'Yuffie'_ me, Vincent. I'm twenty two not that eighteen year old girl that you parted ways with!" Yuffie shook her head, her fingers flexing, wanting to grab the gunslinger in front of her. "I won't let Chekov toy with us anymore like this is some game! He knows," she shook her head. "I know how to stop him."

Vincent shook his head, again. "You're not going back there, end of discussion. You ran away from there Yuffie and now you _want_ to run back there? You need to make up your mind."

Yuffie bit her lip, a _different_ thought in her mind. "You say you don't want me to go back to Wutai because you're the _only _one who knows the whole story, right? But you won't do anything! You keep telling me hollow truths: you say you won't go through _it _again, you tell me not to go back, we'll come after you," Yuffie paused, taking a deep breath, an ultimatum in her mind. Slowly, she raised her eyes to meet Vincent's, her usual smirk on her features. "My minds made up. You say all this stuff, but . . . I want . . . I _want_ you to kiss me and tell me it doesn't matter!"

--

A/N: How's that for a cliffhanger?

Yuffie's back story is slowly starting to become unraveled, more will be revealed in the next few chapters. Chekov's still got some tricks up his sleeves and Denzel's group seems far from happy. What I can I say; I like to keep people guessing.

Anyway, keep reading and I see to have a lot of silent readers all the sudden, but I'd love to hear from you all. :)


	14. 14: Contingency

Marlene grinned, not bothering to hide it as she wandered down the street, the brunette male standing within reach of her. Casting her blue eyes over at him, she met his gaze, her grin brightening. It had been _too_ long, a year at best.

After joining up with the WRO, he had spent most of his time close to base. _That's what comes with being the rookie_, Reeve had told him before. Denzel, being Denzel, hadn't been impressed, but did it anyway, wanting to show he had what it took. It wasn't long before he started getting better missions; head to Edge for this, Costa del Sol for that, and before long he got further away missions.

When Tifa had gotten the text message from Yuffie, and having come up empty handed in Wutai, Reeve had decided to send Denzel in; he wouldn't standout as rest of the well known WRO members. Reeve had wanted him to take a look around, see what they could find, undercover. They didn't hear from Denzel for six months – a _long_ six months in Marlene's opinion – but he eventually made contact, not having been able to find anything.

She never asked what he did in Wutai; he wasn't very interested in talking about it. Marlene noticed that Denzel had gotten very good at dodging questions, subtly changing the subject; it all seemed so . . . _natural_.

And that was what made Marlene worry.

She _wanted_ to trust him, he was her _best_ friend. He had just gone away for a while, made some extra friends while he was away, right? Right. She had _no_ reason to be jealous of the other two; Liam seemed nice, and Bridget was . . . well, anyway, Liam seemed nice, she'd think, dismissing the two from her thoughts.

"What're you thinking about Marlene?" Denzel finally said, his voice cutting through her thoughts.

"Huh?" Marlene jolted, raising her eyebrows as she tried to focus her thoughts. She shook her head, smiling up at him. "I was just thinking about my shopping, I have to get you something. I didn't think you'd be coming this year, Reeve's been unable to contact you recently."

Denzel frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "That's weird, my cell phone has been on," he shook his head. "There's probably a glitch in it or something, probably taken too many beatings, huh?"

Marlene nodded, laughing along with him, if only halfheartedly. Shelke had created and programmed the WRO styled cell phones from scratch. She couldn't imagine a glitch in her systems; this was _Shelke_ they were talking about.

"Maybe you're right, you'll have to mention it to Reeve and he'll get you another one in the meantime. Shelke can have a look at it afterwards," she said, trailing off as a window display caught her attention.

_Yuffie would like those_, she thought, the oriental girl another one she hadn't bought a present for yet. The window display showed a bunch of mannequins displaying different styles of clothes. For some reason, especially with her new hair style, she could picture Yuffie in the offbeat clothing.

"I meant to ask you about that," Denzel asked, a few paces behind Marlene, brushing the snowflakes from his hair. "What's wrong with her?"

"What?!" Marlene huffed, the breath knocked out of her as she turned around, eyes wide. Holding Denzel's gaze, her mouth hung open slightly, surprise written all over her face. "How do you know about that?"

How did he _know_ about Yuffie?

Denzel raised an eyebrow at Marlene's strange response; her look moving from utter surprise to suspicious, raising an eyebrow at him, frowning. "It's all over the WRO, not just AVALANCE is aware of it, I mean _really_ Marlene, it happened right before I got there. Shelke's down and out, got attacked by something in her terminal, right?"

Marlene let out a loud breath, her heartbeat slowing down. He was talking about _Shelke_ not _Yuffie_. Holding her gloved hand over her heart, she grinned at him. "You scared me there for a minute –"

"I can _see_ that," he mumbled, watching her intently.

Marlene shook her head, pretending not to hear Denzel's words. "Anyway, yes, something happened to Shelke. Reeve and the others are looking into it; they have it narrowed down to a couple different ideas."

"What was she researching?"

"I don't know," Marlene shrugged; feeling like her face was heating up. She _hated_ lying – she wasn't any good at it. "I'm not **_exactly_** part of the WRO, I _just_ live there."

Denzel nodded once, Marlene catching the small frown that appeared minutely on his features. Shaking her head, carefully putting the past couple minutes away for future reference, she smiled up at him, grabbing his hand. "Come on, I want to look in here, okay?"

Denzel nodded again, his desire to converse with the brunette suddenly unimportant. Stopping outside the door, Marlene having already gone inside, he raised an eyebrow as he looked questionably at the window display. He couldn't exactly see Marlene – or any of the _remaining_ WRO girls wearing this sort of clothing – but, with a shrug, he reached for the door, the bell dinging as he pushed it open.

Scanning the room, he found Marlene over in the corner of the small building, half hidden by a rack of earrings and different . . . Denzel rolled his eyes. This was _exactly_ the kind of store he despised.

He wished this shopping trip would soon be over, and unknown to him, Marlene wished the same thing, shooting glances at him every once and a while. Something _had_ changed about him, but she couldn't quite figure it out yet.

--

The reaction was instant, just like she knew it was.

Watching with detached eyes, Yuffie saw the gunslinger freeze in front of her, taking a step away from her. Glancing up, holding his crimson gaze, she could see he was torn between something; right and wrong if she knew him well enough. Which, she _claimed_ she did. As she watched him, she forced down the urge to roll her eyes and sigh.

He _didn't_ care.

Well, in _his_ mind he cared.

He probably thought she was being stubborn again.

_Some things never change_, she thought with a shrug.

Forcing a smile on her face, she shook her head. "It's _alright_ Vincent," she said lowly, not bothering with her nickname for him. "I _get_ it, we're only friends."

She shook her head as she tried to keep her features happy and upbeat, wanting nothing more then head to her room and be _alone_. In the WRO, it was nearly impossible to find a space of your own. It was e_specially_ when you're the one who's stuck in a not-supposed-to-be-here situation. Crossing the room in a couple steps, she stopped before the door, slowly unlocking the heavy door.

_He doesn't care. We're just friends. He can't or won't help me. Maybe . . . he _really_ doesn't want me hanging around here. Barret always _did_ say I brought trouble with me; maybe they've finally had enough_?

Deep in thought, Yuffie didn't hear the silent footsteps behind her as Vincent stopped behind her, a couple feet away. As she succeeded in unlocking the door, a slight smile on her face, her hand moved from the lock to the doorknob, not feeling Vincent's presence behind her.

Her mind a mile away, she let out a gasp, freezing as a hand came down, clamping her upper arm tightly.

Her thoughts on Wutai, her mind quickly came to the conclusion of Chekov, and her reaction was instant.

Her hand dropped her doorknob from her tight grasp, and within a couple seconds, she pivoted around on her heel, jerking her arm up and out of his grasp. Before her mind could catch up with her body; Vincent standing a couple feet in front of her, slight surprise on his features; she brought her arm back, balling it into a fist before letting it fly.

Her fist connected _solidly _with his cheek.

As she saw Vincent stumble back from the unexpected impact, did Yuffie's body catch up to her mind. Letting out a gasp, eyes wide as her hands flew to her mouth, shock written in her eyes.

She had just_ hit_ Vincent Valentine.

He'd done _nothing_ to stop her – she _knew_ he could stop her too.

Any other time she would have laughed, smirked at him while she told him he wasn't as tough as everyone thought he was. She would have held it over his head too, for a long time no doubt.

"Oh my . . . Vinnie, I'm _so_ sorry!"

Vincent shook his head, glancing up at her. "All you have to do is do _that_ to Chekov."

To make the scene before them look even worse, voices could be heard in the hallway as the elevator dinged, the doors closing once again. Yuffie rolled her eyes as she recognized the laugh, Tifa was on her way. Tifa was most likely looking for her; no doubt with Shera in tow like always. This would just look _great_ to them; she could just see their reactions. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding as the voices from the other side of the door stopped.

_They must have kept going_, she thought idly, not wanting the two to see this.

The door creaked open.

Yuffie cursed herself, she'd unlocked it seconds before this all happened. Cursing inwardly, she glanced back at the door, half open now. The door swung open all the way, framing the two women in the doorway, their reactions similar to what Yuffie had pictured in her head. She could imagine her look if she opened a door to find the infallible Vincent Valentine on the floor, a slight coloration appearing on his cheek, while Yuffie stood a couple feet away, one hand balled up into a fist.

"Yuffie! What's _going_ on here?"

Sheepishly, Yuffie glanced around, smiling at the two, unballing her fist. "Heh . . . hey _guys_."

"What's happening in here?" Tifa said again, shaking her head as she entered the room. Crossing her arms over her chest, a frown on her face, she flicked her glance from Yuffie to Vincent and back again. "What did you guys _do_?"

Yuffie opened her mouth, but found herself speechless. What _was_ she supposed to say? _I asked Vincent to kiss me because I still love him and he didn't move so I went to leave and when he grabbed me, I punched him? I thought he was Chekov and . . . _yeah, that would go over well and cause **even** more questions!

Vincent shook his head, however, moving to stand up. "It was nothing. I simply asked Yuffie what she would do if she met Chekov again and he tried to force her to –"

"I guess I went a little overboard," Yuffie cut in, sending a sharp glance in Vincent's direction. That subject was _forbidden_ – no one else was supposed to _know_ about that. "I'm so **_so_** sorry, Vincent. That was . . ." Yuffie shook her head. "I've got to go."

Shaking her head as she cast one last glance back at Vincent, she pushed her way past Tifa and Shera, ignoring their indignant, if not surprised, looks.

Tifa raised her eyebrow as Yuffie disappeared out the door, slamming it shut behind her. "Go after her Shera," Tifa muttered, a frown etched on her face. "I _don't_ want to have to track her down again . . . god knows she's a good hider."

Shera nodded. "Classic Yuffie," she chuckled, opening the door again.

Tifa sighed, her eyes flickering from the door to Vincent, the gunslinger now standing up, feet away from her. She could tell from his stance _and_ look – Vincent _knew_ what was going on and he wasn't about to explain any of that. She bit back a groan; Vincent could keep a secret better then anyone. In some cases, he was _worse_ then Yuffie.

"What's going on here, Vincent? What's wrong with her?"

"She's fine." Vincent said, shrugging. "She'll do things her own way, you should be well aware of that by now."

"I am," Tifa said, her eyes following Vincent as he headed into the living room. She rolled her eyes, he should know _her_ better too, she wasn't about to give up. Sighing, her feet echoing off the linoleum entrance, followed him into the next room. He _wasn't_ going to shake her off that easily. "And that's why she hit you right?" she commented, getting right to the point. Beating around the bush was pointless in her opinion. "She's got something in her mind – a _contingency plan_ maybe? For her to hit **_you_** – of all people! – you must have tried to stop her . . ."

"Tifa –"

"We're all friends, Vincent. What. Is. Going. On. Here?"

He sighed, closing his eyes momentarily. Yuffie had told him her secrets – she knew he wouldn't tell any. God knows she knew _way_ too many of his old secrets. For him to tell Tifa . . . Yuffie _would_ run away – from them, this time. "She's just afraid of what is going on here."

Tifa nodded, sinking into the couch, resting against the back. "I was _afraid_ of this, Vincent. We should really have kept her apart from what goes on . . . but can't you see her reaction this?" Tifa sighed, shaking her head in annoyance. "But with all this stuff with Chekov and Wutai, I was worried something like this might happen! She's feeling guilty, right? Regarding Shelke's condition, she believes it's all her fault."

Keeping her eyes trained on Vincent, his back to her, staring at something she couldn't see from her position. She nodded to herself, his silence confirming her theories. "She is . . . she's wallowing. She has something up her sleeves . .." Tifa mumbled, more to herself then Vincent.

She was afraid of something like this happening. Yuffie was blaming herself for everything that happened, making up her own plans. If Yuffie still had the same frame of mind as she did as a teenager, she had some dynamic plan in the works. She'd want to _protect_ them – her mother and Aeris died with her standing there, helpless – and yet, she'd come to _them_ for protection.

What kind of _friend_ was she? She didn't even think through Yuffie's predicament and what her wild personality could force her to do. She shook her head. "She's _not_ going to leave, Vincent. She has no where to go without us –"

"Except Wutai."

Tifa blinked, pushing herself away from the couch. "You don't really think she'd do that. I mean – _look_ at her, she was a wreck when she showed up! She wouldn't go back there."

"If she feels guilty, she _will_ do whatever she thinks is right to protect her friends. Yuffie . . . she thinks of this as her problem, and from what happened to Shelke, she thinks it is a problem she forced onto us."

Tifa let out a groan, throwing her hands up in frustration. "Yuffie, she – augh! Why does she always make _everything_ so difficult!"

Vincent shook his head, glancing at the bartender. "Yuffie doesn't mean to make it difficult, she thinks she's doing what's right – and that's what clouds her vision."

Tifa sighed, moving to the front door. "I just need to talk to her – get her alone. I'd hate to have to pin her down and tie her up to keep her here," Tifa mused to herself, a smirk on her features as she moved towards the door. "She's _not_ going back there."

Vincent sighed, heading for the small kitchenette as Tifa muttered to herself, opening and closing the door behind her.

There was one thing he couldn't deny – Yuffie _always_ seemed to bring something interesting with her, breaking whatever false peace had been created momentarily.

As he opened the fridge door, he couldn't get Yuffie's thoughts out of his mind now that he was alone. Yuffie claimed she loved him – no, _still_ loved him. Although he didn't want her going back to Wutai, he knew that he wouldn't be able to prove her wrong.

--

Forgetting the elevator closest to her, Tifa turned her back on the large, bulking metal frame heading for the stairwell a couple doors down from where she currently was. Crossing the carpeted hallway in a couple steps, she wrenched the heavy wooden door open, disappearing into the cool hallway. Putting her muscles to use, she pushed her body forward as she raced down the stairs, footsteps pounding heavily against the metal stairs.

She knew Shera and Yuffie too well. Although Yuffie had been still for a while, she would still be able to outrun Shera; the scientist being far from physically fit as the rest of the group. The game of chase was hardly Shera's calling, who would rather be around machinery while Tifa, on the other hand, had grown up running from _and_ after this, that and other thing.

Yuffie Kisaragi was no exception – she knew the ninja far too well.

Down the stairs, around the corner, and down more _endless_ stairs, and within a couple minutes, Tifa pushed the door open as she flew into the hallway. Hardly out of breath, Tifa pushed the odd strand out of her face as she started down the hallway, wine coloured eyes sweeping the hallway. Her footsteps echoed down the hallway, the only carpet being the section from the front door to the reception desk area. Throwing her hand up in greeting to the guy at the desk, she pushed the glass doors open, squinting as the bright glow of the sun hit her head on. Fishing in her pocket for her sunglasses, she smiled when she found them in her pockets, fitting them onto her face.

People had gotten used to the WRO being in their town, so the fact that _the_ Tifa Lockheart was walking down the sidewalk in a hurry, didn't phase them at all – actually they never looked up as she past by. Tourists, however stopped, usually pointing and whispering about who that was, trying to find their cameras in their large bags. Used to that, it didn't phase her any more and she usually stopped if she was asked, but it was plain on her face – Tifa Lockheart was in a hurry, off on another mission.

_Some mission_, Tifa thought as she saw a couple searching their large bag, talking rapidly. _Trying to find someone who was supposed to be dead – how like the WRO._

Turning a corner, she started down the old, familiar street. Above her hung the final remains of the towering city, the rural part of Junon below. Her footsteps sounded against the concrete which eventually turned into gravel as she descended, the presence of the city disappearing completely. Not many people lived down in the rural area anymore, many preferred to be within the city limits, where every convenience was at their disposal. There were air conditioners, a smog-less city now that ShinRa's presence was long gone, and with the WRO situated in the middle of the city; it was _usually_ the safest city in all of Gaea.

But, Tifa she found that she liked the rural area better; less hustle and bustle, less people running around you and to her, time seemed slower down there. She supposed it was because she was used to it; growing up in Nibelheim and the Midgar Slums before running around the entire planet hardly ever sleeping at an inn – this was the kind of life Tifa was used to: **quiet**.

That in itself was a rarity in Junon; what with the car alarms, horns and people talking at top volume all hours of the day.

And for that reason, she knew Yuffie would be down here; the ninja used to the quiet – the _Queen_ of Wutai probably never had a quiet moment.

The further she went into the rural area, the calming sound of the ocean hitting the hard banks of sand met her ears, calming her. Manuevering around the small area – the people here used to the WRO agents, especially Tifa – gave her no notice as she moved towards the small steps built into the hill, descending towards the small beach.

Like she expected, the beach was empty. The only people that usually used the beach were the locals, but, even they liked to take the ferry across the water to Costa del Sol.

Stepping off the stairs, the sand making her sink slightly, she glanced around. Although Yuffie wasn't around the water like she had expected, she knew the ninja would come here eventually either way. After they had beat Deepground and the celebrations were over, before she went home to Wutai, Yuffie could usually be found here; claiming that it gave her time to think and be alone.

Above all else, that was the last thing they needed for Yuffie right now.

"Hey Tifa."

Tifa jumped at the voice, breaking through her thoughts. Whirling around, she shook her head as she saw Yuffie sitting on the rocks that were scattered all along the embankment. She wondered how long Yuffie had been sitting there – _probably this entire time_, she thought wirily. It seemed Yuffie still had a knack for being sneaky.

Hey Yuffie, didn't see you there."

"I noticed," Yuffie said, her usual smirk appearing on her features. She stood up fluidly, stretching, before jumping from the rocks to the sand. "I mean, you didn't even notice me sitting here – I was like three feet away from you too!" Yuffie laughed, as she brushed off her khaki's, glancing at Tifa. "So, what'd you come down here for?"

"I'm here to talk to you," Tifa said, glancing down at Yuffie. Yuffie nodded, turning her back to Tifa, heading for the water. "I haevn't had a lot of time to talk to you."

"I know, it's been a while," Yuffie echoed, kicking her shoes off. "So, what do you want to talk to me about?"

Tifa followed Yuffie down to the water as well, kicking her shoes off. The sand squished between her toes as she stopped on the water's edge, the water already up to Yuffie's knees. "You're not _thinking_ of leaving without us, are you?"

Yuffie stopped, looking over her shoulder at Tifa. "What?" She raised an eyebrow, trying to hold back a laugh. "Why would I leave? There's _no_ way in hell I'm going there!"

Tifa smiled, secretly glad. "Yuffie," she started slowly, holding the ninja's gaze. "What _are_ you hiding from us?"

"Nothing," she said, shrugging as she stepped deeper into the water. "Why would I _hide_ anything from you?"

Tifa's eyes narrowed; Yuffie's answers came to fast, like a well delivered and thought out line. "But, you would tell us, right? _Or_, would you just tell Vincent?"

Yuffie paused, rolling her eyes before glancing over to look at Tifa. Holding her eyes, she waded back through the water, stopping when the water only covered her ankles. "Do you really want to know?" she said, a sense of urgency taking over her tone. "Do you _really_ want to know what **hell** is like?"

Tifa blinked, stumbling back a couple steps from the intensity of the girl in front of her. That was the spark they were all missing – it looked like the _old_ Yuffie was still in there. "Yes," she said with a small nod. "I want to know – I'm your friend."

Yuffie sighed, pushing past Tifa as she left the water. Raising an eyebrow, Tifa followed after Yuffie, the ninja stopping at the rocks, dropping heavily onto them. "You might as well sit down," Yuffie shrugged, glancing up at Tifa, her old smirk on her face. "It's a _long_ story – you're not going to like it."

--

Alright, another chapter down.

Actions going to start up soon, r u n n i n g is over . . .

Anyways, review, review, review, I'd love to hear from you all, seriously.  
I love that this stories really popular, but no reivews and 200+ hits? You're all killing me slowly . . .  
Alas, the action shall be brought next chapter!


	15. 15: Intentions

Yuffie sighed as she swung her feet beneath her, her heel's hitting the rock she was perched on. Leaning back on her palm, she brushed her blonde hair away from her eyes as she glanced up at Tifa. "So . . . _what_ do you want to know?"

Tifa shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against the metal railing. "I don't know," she mumbled, glancing out at the once-polluted ocean. "What does Vincent know? You _are_ hiding something . . . Yuffie. We want to help you, but you're doing _everything_ to stop us from helping. I – I want the truth."

Yuffie rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "It's a long story –"

"And . . . we have _somewhere_ to go?"

Yuffie let out a laugh, stretching her legs out before her. "Now, now, that's my job to be sarcastic."

Tifa nodded absently as she moved to sit on the rocky ledge beside Yuffie. "Now, are you going to tell me or not?" she said, propping her elbows up on her knees.

_How straightforward . . . like **always**_, Yuffie thought with a smirk. "Well . . ."

_Yuffie sighed, biting down on her bottom lip as she looked in the mirror in front of her. She couldn't believe what she was about to do; how . . . _dumb_. _

_She wanted to curse her father's stupid memory._

_She wished she could knock Chekov one, the stupid, conniving . . . augh! _

_While, about all else, she wanted to curse herself._

_This wasn't what she wanted; when her father summoned her, asking her if she would do _anything_ to protect Wutai – she knew that they _knew_ her answer. _

_That was her goal in life – return Wutai to its previous glory. _

_That was why she teamed up with Cloud and AVALANCE._

_But _marriage_? Yeah . . . that was the exact opposite of her current plan. Perhaps if she had known what was going to happen, she wouldn't have returned. They could have come to her, find her. It'd be easier, wouldn't It – without that silly emotional bond as her father died, asking her to fulfill a final wish for him? It would have been easier to turn down one of the aides or the Royal Guard, but her own father? _

_At that time all she could think was; not again. _

_Her mother, Aeris and Shalua . . . and then her father – her luck couldn't get much worse._

_"Miss. Kisaragi!" _

_She let out a groan as a sharp knock sounded on her door, opening slightly to allow two of the Pagoda's aides into the room. Frowning, she looked away from the dresser mirror, glancing momentarily at the two females, not bothering to get up. _

_"What do you want, _now_?" Yuffie muttered, propping her chin in her hand, boredom in her tone. "I didn't say you could enter."_

_The one aide stopped, torn between the princess's orders and the sharp glare her elder sent to the black haired girl. "It matters little, get over her Morgan and get **out** of that chair, Miss. Kisaragi."_

_Yuffie frowned at her through the mirror, ignoring her words. "I wonder what everyone's up to right now?" she mumbled to herself, drumming her fingers onto the tabletop, aware of the small cell phone hidden in her desk drawer. If only she could take it out – she rolled her eyes at the thought; Chekov had been looking for it, demanding it from her daily. _

_Stupid bastard thought he could _control_ her? Yeah right! _

_"You know the rules, Lord Chekov has decided to cut all ties with the mainland – they were a bad influence on you, my lady," the elder commanded, her voice harsh as she approached Yuffie. Stopping behind the dark haired girl, she crossed her arms over her chest, glaring intently at her. "You have become crude and vulgar – how dare you defile yourself, hanging out with all those males so publicly. You are lucky that the Lord still wishes to have you –"_

_"Like I care what that ass has to say," Yuffie grumbled, smirking at the thought. "Feh, maybe I'll just not show up; since I'm _such_ a whore, accordingly."_

_Not expecting it, Yuffie let out a small cry, wincing as the woman grasped her short hair, pulling her head back. "As a woman – and one of high class – you should be happy he took interest in you, you have been –"_

_"Shut up," Yuffie grumbled, slapping her hand away. "Yes, I know; according to everyone, hanging out with another male makes me a whore. I get it, I'm some kind of . . . gawd, you have no concept! And there is _**no**_way in hell I'm going out there, he can buzz off!"_

_"Morgan, find Lord Chekov, tell him that she is . . . well, that he will need to _teach_ her a couple things."_

_--_

_Yuffie forced a grin onto her face as she felt his tough grip around her fingers. She shot him a glance – her trademark smirk on her face – her fingers tightening around his too. _

_She could play this game too, he wouldn't beat her. _

_Glancing away from him as the minister before them spoke their vows – she wished she could run away – her mind a mile away._

_This wasn't exactly how she had pictured her wedding. This was, the exact opposite in fact. _

_Until she turned sixteen and found a gunslinger in a coffin, she had never cared about a wedding. Suddenly, that was what she wanted – the white dress, good weather and a backyard wedding with her closest friends. She could have imagined Tifa's silly grin as she squealed at the sight of the ring on her finger, the bartender naturally being her maid of honor, no doubt crying in the back. Barret would have rolled his eyes and Cid would have had some remark while he smoked on his cigarette. _

_She wanted to marry someone she loved – not someone who would continue Wutai's _stupid _traditions. Instead of the gloved hand over hers, she'd rather have the feel of the cool, clawed gauntlet in hers. Even if it was a long shot – she'd rather feel his hand on her waist as she was turned around quickly and his lips on hers as Chekov kissed her roughly. The wedding bells rang out from the Pagoda's bell tower, signaling that Wutai _finally_ had a new ruler._

_She wished her friends were there – even though this might have been the worst day ever – it would have made it a **little** bit more tolerable._

_"Wutai finally has a new ruler – smile, **my** queen."_

_Yuffie forced a smile on her face again, she had a feeling she was going to be doing a lot of this. _

His Queen?!_ her mind shouted, as he took her hand in his tightly, leading her down the aisle. _

_She trailed behind him, her smile bordering on turning into a smirk. She forced down the urge to roll her eyes as Chekov grasped her hand tighter again, pulling her 'lovingly' closer to him. The thought make her want to hurl. Her friends would never let her live this down; not that she would see them any time soon . . ._

_--_

_"Yuffie, you're not pulling your weight."_

_Yuffie glared across the room at the darker man, leaning against the door frame. "I wouldn't know _what_ you mean, **darling**," she said, almost sneering the last park. "It is hard when I can't leave the building without you."_

_Chekov stopped, glaring at the small girl in the doorway. His dark black eyes held her storm grey ones, willing her to look away. Having been married to the Kisaragi heir for three month had not turned out like he had expected. While her spirit had been crushed slightly, it still managed to flare up once and a while, usually when she was angry. Although that was annoying, she'd been living with him for three months and she still showed no sign of bearing any of his children. _

_"You know what I'm talking about," he said, his tone sharp as he crossed the room to where she stood. "There is only **one** thing you're not doing – you're not doing your deed as a woman."_

_Yuffie blinked, unsure what he meant at first. As the realization sunk in, Yuffie froze momentarily. Shaking her head, her eyes hard, she glared at Chekov, eyes narrowing. "You bastard – why the hell would I –"_

_She didn't finish her sentence as his palm hit her cheek hard, making her stumble back out into their small highway. "You should know how to hold your tongue by now," he said, his voice low as he approached her, leaning against the railing, her eyes hard. "Haven't you been . . . shown enough times."_

_Yuffie shivered, cursing herself for showing weakness in front of that man. She knew what would happen if she didn't told her tongue – it happened a lot in the beginning, but lately she'd been good – something she tried to avoid when possible. She didn't like the idea of massive amount of pain, unable to leave 'their' aka his Pagoda for a long period of time. _

_"Maybe I'm not able to have kids," she said, flippantly, pushing her way past him. "I'm leaving. I don't have to take this!"_

_Yuffie gave herself pride, she managed to get herself a couple feet away from him before he stopped her. His large hand wrapped itself around her arm, gripping her tightly, her arm slowly becoming numb. "You are **mine**. You are** my** wife. You **will** bear my children – that was your honor to Leviathan, do you intend to take back your words to the Gods?"_

_Yuffie's retort died in her throat. Would she leave Chekov? Without a second thought, yes, yes she would. But, would she be able to defy the vow she made in front of Leviathan, and ultimately to her father? That was where it got complicated._

_God damn it all, she cursed. _

_How she hated her life. Every _moment_ of it._

"And, that's that." Yuffie shrugged, stifling a yawn. God how she hated those stories!

Tifa frowned from her position beside Yuffie, tearing her eyes away from the horizon in front of her to the ninja beside her. "So, that's everything?" she muttered, a frown on her face. "You married Chekov against your will and had his children."

"Like I wanted to marry the bastard," Yuffie smirked, shaking her head. "_Oh_, how rude of me, swearing like that again. Anyway, it was all planned out against me. Although I don't have any proof, I am sure that my father and Chekov had this all planned out should I ever return to Wutai . . . and lucky for me, I show up at the wrong time. I'm really good at that, don't you think? They knew I wouldn't be able to turn down my father's dying wish, they knew how to play on my emotions. Then, when it was announced to the country that I was to be married regardless of my _status_ . . . and once you make the vows in front of Leviathan, you're in it for life," she shrugged, stretching as she stood up. "In Wutai, they don't believe in divorce. We believe you're in it for the long run – that is, _unless_ you're husband finds a more suitable woman."

"What?!"

Yuffie nodded, looking down at Tifa. "That's Wutai – we're the land of the double standards."

Tifa sighed, shaking her head. "I can see why you wouldn't want to go back," she said at a length, walking across the rocky ledge to the worn out steps a couple feet away. "I do have a question though – _what_ do you mean by this status?"

Yuffie snorted, throwing her head back in a laugh. "They thought it was wrong of me to hang out with men so publicly – a true woman should only dote on her husband."

"Dote?"

Yuffie threw a grin over her shoulder. "Please – they thought I was sleeping around with Vincent."

--

Bridget paced back and forth, ignoring the looks of the people around her as she waited on the steps of the WRO for Denzel to return. Liam, on the other hand, sat atop the cement railing of the staircase, flipping idly through a book he'd found in the kitchen. Glancing over at Bridget, his sunglasses slipping down his nose, he rolled his eyes. "Just sit down, would you?" he muttered, piercing her with a glare. "Doing that is not going to bring Denzel home any faster."

"Shut up Liam, read your little book. I don't need you telling me what to do." Bridget huffed, throwing him a haunting glare before turning her back to him. "You saw that message. We're not _needed_ here anymore, and that means, I can get as far away from that _Marlene_."

Liam rolled his eyes, going back to the book in his hands. "I think someone's jealous . . ."

"I hate you, mind your own business," Bridget hissed, glaring back at him. "I _dare_ you to say that to my face, you . . . you . . . jerk!"

"Nice comeback. Seriously, you've only said that _thirty_ times since Golden Saucer."

Bridget hmphed as she looked away from him, sticking her chin up in her air. "You're annoying. I wish Denzel would _hurry_ up."

"Stop whining," Liam muttered under his breath, flipping the page. "You're such a baby."

"I would respond to that – but then I'd _have_ to talk to you," Bridget muttered incoherently.

_Such a blonde_, Liam thought idly.

The streets of Edge were busy, everybody going every which way, hurrying to finish their shopping in the small amount of time left. Glancing up at the sky, Liam figured it would have to be around the middle of the day. The stores would be closing soon, he figured. Flipping another page, he scanned over it; it wasn't exactly a page turner. Around the WRO headquarters, the stairs they sat on being nearest to the watched gates, he glanced up when he heard the guards short calls, the iron gates creaking open.

Dropping the book, he noticed two people coming in through the closing gates. One was a girl, a knee length coat adorning her body, a similar coloured hat on her chocolate brown hair. In each gloved hands, she held a parcel, her scarf hanging out of one of them. The boy beside her had a winter coat – one that wouldn't look out of place up in the Northern Continent – gloves on his hands, while his head was hat free.

He glanced back at Bridget, the girl angrily kicking the other cement railing, looking anywhere but at him. He rolled his eyes at her, she _wasn't_ very observant. "Look who it is, Bridget . . ."

Stopping mid-kick, she whirled around, glancing from Liam to where he pointed. She grinned as she saw Denzel, the presence of Marlene not dampening her mood for once. They _were_ leaving.

"Denzel!" she called, quickly descending the stairs. Ignoring Marlene, she came to a stop between the two of them, pushing the brunette out of her way as she grabbed Denzel's arm. Possessively, in Marlene's opinion as she frowned at the other, pushy girl. "I need to talk to you about something _important_," she wiggled her eyebrows to get the point across. "Right now . . . come on."

Denzel blinked – since when did Bridget greet anyone like this? Usually it was just a vague wave as she watched television, or a punch in the shoulder served as a hello if she was close enough. As she hissed her words at him and wiggled her eyebrows like that, did he realize the small phone she held in her hand.

So, it was about _that_.

"Alright, let's go," he muttered, prying her grip off his arm, whirling her around. He locked eyes with Liam, nodding to him as he closed up his book, jumping off the railing. He sighed, looking back at Marlene, her eyebrow raised. "Marlene, can I talk to you later?"

She nodded slowly. "I'll . . . see you _later_ then?"

Denzel nodded in return. "Yeah, sure, you know it."

Like he _could_ promise her that . . .

He watched as Marlene walked past them – he noticed the dark glare Marlene shot at Bridget – as she tore her hat off, shoving it into the bag as the first automatic door opened to let her in out of the cold. As she heard the door close behind her, shutting out the sounds of the outside world, did she let out a sigh. Dropping her parcels to the ground, she tore her mitts off, undoing the buttons on the top of her coat. Finding the pocket hidden inside the coat, she zipped it open, finding her access card inside.

The little white, laminated paper had a small barcode at the bottom, indicating that she could enter. As she pushed the piece into the electronic device, she frowned as it disappeared from view. She really should ask Reeve if she could get a new card – she didn't look like she was nine anymore! She grinned as the small light turned green, spitting her card out, the door opening for her. Grinning, she picked up her bags, running into the main of the WRO building, the warm reception area before her.

"Have you seen Tifa Lockheart?" she asked, dropping her bags off in the nearest chair. She'd come back for them later. "I need to talk to her immediately."

The woman at the reception desk looked up from her computer screen, a small headset attached to her ears. "I'm sorry Miss. Wallace, Miss. Lockheart left a couple hours ago looking for our new recruit and has yet to return."

Marlene frowned. Tifa was out with Yuffie, damn. She sighed, walking back to pick up her bags. "Well then, please inform that I need to talk to her _immediately_ it is **_important_** – but no one else must know about this."

The receptionist nodded slightly, hands flying across the keyboard. "I'll let her know, Miss. Wallace," she said, startling slightly before reaching a hand up to the device on her ear. "Hello, thank you for calling the WRO this afternoon, how may I direct your call?"

Marlene shook her head as she shouldered her parcel's, heading down one of the many corridors branching off from the warm room. As she called for the elevator, she sighed as she leaned against the wall, waiting. She knew her mind should have been on the items in her bag and the stack of them in her room, but she couldn't get her mind off the group of three outside and the strange exchanges that seemed to go on between them.

She didn't understand why she couldn't get them off her mind, and why it made her shudder, knowing something was wrong. Deep in her thoughts, she didn't hear the ding of the elevator and the doors opening up with a grind. "Are you alright, Marlene?"

Jumping out of her thoughts, she grinned slightly as she noticed Reeve standing a couple feet in front of her, worry in his eyes. She shook her head, pushing herself away from the wall, the elevator doors having shut. "Nothing, I was just thinking about something. I really need to talk to Tifa . . . _actually_ . . . could we talk for a little while? I – I know something, something bad . . ."

--

An hour later with a couple shopping bags in hand, Tifa and Yuffie returned to the WRO building. Flashing a grin and her identification card to the guard at the gates, they opened, allowing the two in. Yuffie sighed as the guards glanced at her, looking at her intently – the _new_ girl. She rolled her eyes as she followed Tifa up the cement stairs and into the next room. Slipping her identification card into the electronic device on the wall, getting the green light in a couple seconds, she made her way into the reception area, and always being in a hurry, started past the reception area.

"Miss. Lockheart, you've returned," Tifa stopped, Yuffie almost walking into her back, as she looked back at the young receptionist, an eyebrow raised. "Miss. Wallace is looking for you – she said she wanted to talk to you about something important, and alone."

Yuffie didn't miss the confused look the bartender sent at the receptionist before glancing at Yuffie, shrugging. "Alright, thank you for letting me know. I'll head up there right away," she shook her head as the receptionist moved to speak once more. "No, you don't have to contact her, her room is just down from mine, and I can make my own way there." Beckoning to Yuffie, she continued down the hallway, the silver elevators at the end of the hall.

"What was that about?"

"I don't know," Tifa muttered with a frown, her mind a mile away. "It could be anything . . . make-up advice, or maybe boy advice now that Denzel's back in town."

"Awe, how cute!" Yuffie grinned as the elevator dinged, the doors opening for them.

Pressing the sixth floor button, Tifa grinned. "A lot's changed since you were gone; Marlene's into boys, and she's got more fashion magazines then the bookstore. Barret's been fixing up Corel with the help of the WRO, they've got in almost done. Rufus and the Turks have been hanging around lately –"

"The Turkey's are still around?" Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Where are they hiding?"

"They're fixing up Gongaga, or were going to at least. Well, I don't know what they're doing now . . . it was just starting up again when you fell into our lap."

"They know I'm here?"

"I don't know," Tifa shrugged, the elevator dinging as it past by another floor. "Anyways, they're off doing whatever, probably in Costa del Sol or something. Shera and Cid got married a couple years ago; they've been trying to have a kid, but, you'd have to ask Shera. She's not letting it show, but she's getting . . . _upset_ about it. She'd be great with kids, don't you think?"

"Yeah, great . . ." Yuffie muttered, her voice drowned out as the elevator dinged, shuttering slightly before stopping, the doors opening for them.

"Hmm? What'd you say, Yuffie?"

Yuffie shook her head, stepping out the elevator, forcing her smile back onto her face. "That's too bad, y'know, about her not being about to have kids . . ."

"It is," Tifa said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Anyway, I got to go see what Marlene wants," Tifa rolled her eyes. "I hope I don't have to spend _another_ day making her look like a magazine model."

Yuffie laughed, shaking her head. "Have _fun_ with that," she muttered; glad she didn't have to do it. She had _no_ patience with magazines and fashion.

As Tifa's footsteps disappeared down the other half of the hallway, Yuffie sighed, leaning against the wall. Closing her eyes momentarily, her hands automatically fluttered, coming to a rest on her abdomen. Shaking her head, her eyes opening, she frowned. _Shera . . ._  now, that was something she didn't want to talk about. As she had mentioned to Vincent days previous, it was a _forbidden_ topic, and for Tifa to inadvertently bring it up . . . Leviathan was against her.

"Yuffie."

Deep in her thoughts, Yuffie started, pushing herself quickly away from the wall, her hand falling to her side. Eyes narrowed, her frown turned into a slight smile as she noticed Vincent a couple feet away in the hallway, an eyebrow raised. She shook her head; no doubt, he knew what was on her mind, _again_. She hated to say it, but when she ended up in Nibelheim, all the thoughts she had forced away had resurfaced.

As she stood there, with her dyed blonde hair and borrowed clothes, the gunslinger who hadn't changed in her absence standing in front of her, she found she couldn't stop herself. As her locked away thoughts came to her mind, she found herself crossing the carpeted hallway to where Vincent stood, stopping in front of him. Not saying anything, Yuffie blinked a couple times, locking eyes with him, smiling tentatively.

Before Vincent could say anything, Yuffie reached forward, her hand finding his at his side, interlocking her fingers with his. Grinning slightly, she took a step forward again, disregarding Vincent's raised eyebrow. Taking a deep breath, she shifted slightly to her tiptoes – had he _always_ been this tall? – and before Vincent could pull away, Yuffie crushed her lips against his, her fingers tightening around his.

--

What can I tell you, I like cliffhangers.

The plots starting to advance quickly, it's going to be an entertaining ride . . .

Marlene knows something, Denzel's hiding something, Tifa's clueless and Yuffie's finally spontaneous.

So, review, review, join the ride . . .


	16. 16: Theories

Marlene felt small as she sat in Reeve's office, feet curled up under her feet as she tried to make herself comfy in the big, unusually poufy chairs in front of his wooden desk. Reeve sat on the other side of the desk, a frown on his features as he looked warily at Marlene. With a sigh, he leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. Marlene's lips were drawn in a tight line as she looked at her shoes, eyebrows scrunched together.

"You said that you had something important to tell me," Reeve started, trying to get her to start speaking. "I do hope that this doesn't have something to do with what you read in a magazine . . ."

Marlene grinned, a small laugh bubbling out of her. Shaking her head, she glanced up at Reeve, holding his gaze with hers. "I only _wish_ it was something as simple as that. But . . ." she stopped, biting down on her lip.

Reeve frowned as he watched the teenage girl in front of him. Marlene was stumbling over her words? That wasn't like her at all, the brunette usually speaking a mile a minute; her father's tough stare not making her stumble into silence anymore. Although he had known it, he knew this had nothing to do with a magazine – he just wished this wasn't some girl-likes-boy drama.

He might have been able to deal with the drama encasing all of Gaea and the current situation brewing in Wutai – but, when it came to girl drama; he was _way_ out of his league.

"Marlene, if it's something _serious_, you have to tell me."

Marlene nodded, a frown appearing on her features. "I know . . ."

In some ways, the small girl hadn't changed much. "I won't get mad or whatever it is you think my reaction will be."

Marlene raised an eyebrow, her eyes meeting his again. "I _don't_ want you to jump to conclusions . . . or you know . . ."

Reeve nodded, waving his hand vaguely in her direction. "Alright, I won't say anything or voice my thoughts till you're finished. How's that for you?"

"It's about Denzel," she didn't need to look at Reeve to know that he was most likely, rolling his eyes. "He's up to something . . . him and his _friends_ they're hiding something."

Reeve fought back a smile at Marlene's words. She was _jealous_, he could tell. "Well . . . they have just got here, you just haven't gotten used to them yet."

"You weren't supposed to say anything until I was finished," Marlene challenged with a grin, her tone sing-song. "But, I don't care about being part of their little _clique_; they're not exactly my type! They've been asking questions –"

"Who – Liam and Bridget are?"

"No, Denzel is," Marlene huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "He wants to know about Shelke and what were doing regarding Wutai –"

"He's part of the WRO, Marlene. Anyone would naturally wonder if they heard that Shelke was down and out, taken out by something in that terminal of hers –"

"That's not what I mean," Marlene cut him off with a glare. "He wanted to know what she was doing – he jumped right to the conclusion that she was trying to find a way in Wutai's database. Why would he immediately jump to that conclusion? I _doubt_ it was some kind of coincidence."

"Wutai's problems have been on the news, and knowing the albeit strange friendship between Shelke and Yuffie, I could see why he would come to that conclusion . . ."

"And that's why he told me that the phone Shelke made broke, right?" Marlene muttered, shaking her head. "Because he was so . .  Say, what has he been doing lately anyway?" she thought aloud, looking over at Reeve, falling silent.

"The phone Shelke made broke?" In Marlene's opinion, Reeve did look surprised by that thought. "Hmm, I'll have to speak with him about that, he _really_ has to learn to be more careful with those. Denzel's been everywhere, he's been to Gongaga a couple of times, surveying some things with the Turks, he's been working closely to Rufus off and on," – that thought made Marlene shudder, she didn't want Denzel becoming like Rufus and Reno – "and he's been to Wutai a couple of times –"

"Wait a minute!" Marlene shouted, her limbs flying as she tried to right herself from her stretch. "What's he been doing there?" Denzel was too good at subtly switching the subject when it came back around to that . . .

"He never told you?" Reeve asked with a frown as he leaned forward in his chair. "People like Cloud and Tifa – who, although they know Wutai all to well, would be too recognizable, especially after Tifa and Vincent went there; they don't like the WRO there very much. During the Omega Incident, Denzel wasn't part of the core group yet, so Wutai didn't know that he even belonged to us or knew us, so on and so forth. It was a perfect time on both sides of the coin, he wanted to prove that he had what it took and we needed someone unknown in Wutai. Under the guise of a tourist, we sent him there for the course of a couple months – he was told to keep his contact with us very minimal. He _was_ looking for a sign of Yuffie, and after being there for a month . . . Yuffie showed up on Vincent's doorstep."

"So . . ." Marlene drawled, trying to keep this straight. "If I have this right, Denzel was undercover in Wutai looking for Yuffie? But, didn't . . . wouldn't you have phoned him to let him know we had Yuffie here?"

Reeve shook his head. "Not over the phone, we had no idea what sort of defenses Wutai had up, it could have easily been bugged some how. Although Wutai is old fashioned, they have come a long way since they fell to Midgar. I don't want to underestimate what they are capable of."

Marlene nodded slowly. All the pieces were falling into pieces. It sounded to her that Reeve was trying to explain what he didn't know. It seemed that Denzel didn't talk much to him either; everything was about him, Bridget and Liam. As she thought of the three, she wondered what Bridget had to talk to him about – whatever it was, she was _determined_ to keep it away from her.

"Alright, well, thanks anyway," she said, trying and failing to hide her disappointment. "I guess it's just my imagination – too much television, you know? But, thanks for hearing me out anyway." Pushing herself out of the chair, tossing a wave over her shoulder, she pushed the door open.

As the door closed shut behind her, Marlene let out a sigh as she leaned against the drab wall. She could tell from the look in Reeve's eyes – he _didn't_ believe her. Frowning angrily, she pushed away from the wall, stalking down the hallway, hands clenched tightly into fists.

Somehow . . . she just _knew_ she was on her own here.

--

Bridget dropped heavily onto the bed, her darker makeup making her stare more haunting. Liam rolled his eyes as he tossed his magazine at Bridget, flopping down on the computer desk. Denzel, on the other hand, frowned at the two as he locked his door, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. His glaze settled on Bridget, chewing loudly on her bubblegum as she stared hauntingly at Denzel.

"Alright, tell me what all this is about. What's in your stupid phone, Bridget?"

Bridget paused momentarily before beginning her chewing once again. "It's time to go _home_," she grabbed her cell phone, flipping it open. "We're not needed here anymore; _he's_ got enough to go on. We're done – and I _can't_ **wait** to leave. Let's go."

"Slow _down_, what did he tell you?"

Bridget huffed, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. "_Hello_, what do you think he said?" she muttered, locking eyes with him. "He said that we've done our part, everything's gone according to his plan. We have located Miss. Kisaragi and face it – she _won't_ be leaving here anytime soon. By doing that, she's basically a sitting target. We have everything we need: their trust, her location and her _new_ face."

Liam smirked from where he sat. Yuffie Kisaragi as a blonde, it _was_ a daring move. Unfortunately, with her darker skin colour it made her look like she had a bad tanning job or spent way too much time lounging on the Costa del Sol beach. If he'd met her on the street, he might not have known she was the missing heir.

Denzel nodded, a frown appearing on his face. He _hated_ to say it, but being back with the WRO, his old friends, he didn't know what to say. "Well, what did the message say?"

Bridget's eyes narrowed, pushing herself off the bed angrily, leaning against the headboard. "I can see it in your eyes," she hissed, uncrossing her arms to point at him. "You've _grown _attached to Marlene again . . . I don't know why you even bother."

Denzel sharply looked at her, returning the glare. "What are you talking about _now_?"

"You _love_ her," Bridget sneered. "Or at least, you're getting there. All your feelings are starting to return, right? You're always with her, you _actually_ smile around her, you're a different person with her – you're _just_ stupid." Bridget yelled, now standing a couple feet in front of Denzel, jabbing her finger at him with each accusation.

Denzel snorted at her, slapping her hand away from him. "I don't know what you're talking about," he rolled his eyes, a smirk appearing on his features. "If I didn't hang out with her, she would have gotten curious."

"I hardly _think_ you were pretending."

"I know how they think and how they work; I _know_ what buttons to press Bridget. You have to _trust_ me, I am your leader you know," Bridget scowled at him, looking away, annoyed. "If I avoided Marlene, was rude and cold like you, I _hardly_ think they would trust me. Would you trust someone like that?"

Bridget looked dumbly at him. "You _are_ like that and we still trust you."

Denzel shrugged. "Then maybe _you're_ the stupid one, would you –"

"Excuse me?!" Bridget exploded, balling her hand up into a fist, her fist shaking slightly in her anger. "How dare you call me stupid, you . . . you egotistical ass!"

"Enough, both of you," Liam interrupted harshly, grabbing Bridget's arm as she brought it back. "Chill out guys, _seriously_. We're all on the same side anyways, right Denzel?"

"Of course," Denzel muttered, glaring heavily at Bridget, the girl not fazed by it.  "Anyway, are you going to give me that phone or not?"

Bridget rolled her eyes as she sneered at him, jerking her arm roughly out of Liam's lax grasp. Fishing the sleek phone from her pocket, she tossed it across the room to Denzel's waiting hand. "Knock yourself out," she muttered dryly as she threw it before turning on her heel heading for the unused computer in the corner.

Grabbing the cell phone effortlessly, Denzel flipped it open as he dropped into the nearest chair. Flipping through the different options, he eventually got the last message sent onto the screen.

_Good work, report back. Plans are in motion, your part is finished_.

He didn't know why, but a frown appeared on his features. That was _it_? They come all the way out here looking for her, gain their trust (well, again anyway) and after snapping a picture they can fade into the background? Somehow, that wasn't _exactly_ what he had in mind, something flashier or espionage like in those old movies Yuffie used to watch in the headquarters.

"Ohh," Bridget called from across the room, fingers clicking the mouse rapidly as her fingers flew across the keyboard. "We've got a response, seems like some kind of plan. Denzel – get over here and look at it. It's pretty good – this is going to _end_ fast," she glanced over her shoulder, rolling her eyes as she saw Denzel. "Get _over_ it man, you _know_ nothing's going to happen to her. Like _she_ tells you, she's not part of the WRO."

Liam leaned over Bridget then, making her frown as she wheeled her chair back slightly to glance at the brunette in the chair across the room. "Hmm, this is actually pretty good; no _wonder_ they want us out of here."

"Uh huh," Denzel said, closing up the phone, stuffing it into his pocket. "Let me see that message."

Bridget snorted, standing up to block his view. "First, you give me _my _cell phone. Second, keep the Marlene-happiness to a minimum and thirdly; we're leaving after you read this."

"Sure, whatever," Denzel said, forcing the phone into her awaiting hand, pushing her away, out of his way. Dropping into the recently vacated chair, he scrolled up to the top of the page, his original intent wavering.

He was getting in _way_ over his head.

Stopping at the top of the page, he leaned forward in the chair, his eyes slowly reading the words on the page. As he read the detailed report, he resisted the urge to shake his head. After all this was over, no one – _especially_ Marlene – would be able to trust him ever again.

--

Yuffie couldn't believe what she was doing . . . she was _kissing_ Vincent Valentine.

She'd only had _that_ thought in mind for, what now? Three years?

She _couldn't_ believe they were doing this . . . right in the _middle_ of the corridor no less.

As she crushed herself against the surprised gunslinger – he _should_ know her better then that now – she couldn't help herself as she smiled slightly. With her free hand, she grabbed a handful of his shirt, unsure what to do with her free hand. Her other hand was still in his, her small fingers wrapped around his bigger hand, his fingers loosely touching hers.

Slowly, the actions making her heart stop and pick up double time, she felt Vincent's fingers flex, tightening his hold on her hand as his gauntleted arm came to rest on her back, bringing the smaller girl closer to him. Yuffie grinned widely against him, the coolness of his gauntlet seeping through her shirt.

But, all too soon, he pulled away from her.

She couldn't help it, her smile turned into a frown. She didn't want it to be _over_. In the back of her mind however, she noticed that although his gauntlet had fallen back into the folds of his cloak, his other hand still held hers tightly. Although she didn't show it outwardly, that small gesture made her giddy inside. And she thought she'd left her teenage emotions behind her . . .

"Vincent, I . . ." she started, but fell silent. "I mean . . ." she shook her head, words failing her.

Vincent sighed; his crimson eyes watching the ninja fumble over her unknown words. "It's alright, Yuffie."

Yuffie shook her head, storm grey eyes meeting crimson. "I . . . I just needed to know . . ."

Vincent blinked, glancing away from the ninja. In her absence and under her circumstances, she had become _intense_, he'd noticed, in nearly everything she did now. Her hand still in his, he relaxed his grip slightly – catching the small frown the action brought about – nodding towards his bedroom down the hallway. Yuffie nodded in acknowledgement, following after the gunslinger.

Stopping in front of his closed door, Vincent fished his key out of his pant pocket before slipping it into the doorknob, pushing the door open. Letting go of Yuffie's hand, he ushered her inside. At ease with Vincent's room, Yuffie made her way into the darkness before dropping onto the couch. Pulling her knees up onto the couch with her, resting her chin on her knees, she smiled at Vincent closed the door, the lights flicking on moments later. Blinking in the sudden lightness, she leaned back in the cushions as Vincent moved across the room, dropping down beside her on the couch.

"I'm sorry Vincent . . . you know that. There was _just_ . . . it was just the circumstances."

"Yuffie?" Vincent raised an eyebrow at Yuffie as she stumbled over her words. "What's going on?"

Yuffie shook her head, her storm grey eyes momentarily meeting Vincent's before dropping them to the couch's pattern, tracing them aimlessly. "Tifa didn't _mean_ to mention it, but she was saying the Cid and Shera were trying to have a kid . . . and _my_ god all I could think of was Chekov and . . . augh!"

Vincent shook his head, uncharacteristically moving closer to the ninja and putting his arm around her, pulled her closer to him. "You that's over with . . . it's in the past," he muttered, running his hand up and down her arm.

Yuffie frowned, shooting him a dark glare from against his chest. "But, that _doesn't_ make it any more painful. Of all the things I could have had . . . that _was_ the one thing I really wanted – I would have stayed there," Yuffie said, her voice muffled from her position against Vincent's chest, shaking her head slowly to her words. "Do you _know_ how hard that was – to have that decided for me? I – I –" Yuffie shook her head, words failing her as her vision swam, tears leaking out of her eyes.

Vincent shook his head as Yuffie stuttered, her shoulder's shaking slightly as she tried to bury her face deeper into his chest. Tightening his grip on the smaller girl, he remained silent, his gaze flicking from her to the curtains that hung across the large balcony door. "I know, I know," he said eventually, the girl quieting slightly. "I wish it could be changed . . ."

Yuffie shook her head, pushing herself away from him. Grinning up at him, her eyes rimmed red; she let out a tiny laugh. "If I went back Vincent, I wouldn't be here . . . with you . . ." biting down on the bottom of her lip, she reached a hand out, resting it on his cheek. "This . . . it's . . . its better."

With a quick grin at him, Yuffie shifted closer to him on the couch – which was _hard_ to do inconspicuous – brushing her lips lightly against his. "_You_ make it all better Vinnie – that's _why_ I came for you, you know? Only . . . it got _blown_ out of control so bad . . ."

Vincent allowed a small smirk to appear momentarily on his features. With Yuffie, things always seemed to get out of control on a regular basis. "At least things aren't _dull_ when you're around."

Yuffie pulled back from him in mock surprise. "Is that your attempt at a joke? I can't believe it . . ." then she shrugged, leaning back against the couch. She shifted slightly on the couch, dropping her head against his chest as Vincent dropped his arm from the back of the couch to her shoulders. "I _wish_ we could just stay like this . . ."

Vincent shrugged slightly, his crimson eyes focused on something far away. "Maybe someday . . ."

"Someday," Yuffie repeated with a yawn, her storm grey eyes closing momentarily. "You know, I like the sound of that . . ."

--

Marlene was glad no one was around as she made her way down the lit up corridor, her eyes locked on her room door.

No doubt, if anyone past her by, they'd wonder why she was white in the face, her features trapped somewhere between horror and smug, knowing she was right.

She had to give Denzel at least _one_ credit – even though he had _lost_ her trust – he chose loud friends.

Reeve didn't believe her, Yuffie had _enough_ problems of her own . . . and Shelke – she knew the cynical lieutenant would have believed her.

Put out after her not-so-good meeting with Reeve, she had stalked down the hallway for a much needed rant to her journal, she did a double take when she past by Denzel's room, hearing that _Bridget's _– she couldn't help but sneer the name – harsh laughter and grating voice.

_"You egotistical ass,"_ she had shouted loudly.

Pausing, an eyebrow raised, Marlene made her way closer to the closed door, stopping in front of it. She felt like such a child again as she held her breath and pressed her ear against the door. Her eyes narrowed more as they spoke inside, unaware of her presence. As she heard Denzel moving across the room, she stepped away slowly, moving away from the door. She cast a glance back at the door with narrowed eyes as she clasped her hands behind her.

Locking her bedroom door behind her, Marlene let out a sigh as she crossed the room, dropping down into the lone chair in her room. Pulling open her desk drawer, she pulled out her old, battered and well used journal, flipping rapidly through it to find a blank page. Frowning, her eyes intent on the page in front of her, her mind a mile away, she brought her pen to the paper.

_What I know for sure_; she scribbled.

_Shelke__ faces something unknown and became comatose. Denzel returns within a couple hours._

_Denzel seems more distant and closer to his friends then me. It seems like there's a wall between us. _

_He seemed curious to know if we'd seen Yuffie – unknown what that means. _

_He seems to talk in riddles and Bridget always seems to hold something over my head . . ._

And then there was what she heard outside the door. Deep down, she wished she had heard the beginning of the conversation . . .

_There was something on Bridget's phone, a text message of some kind most likely. I heard them mutter something about the WRO and someone not being . . . is Denzel_ not _part of the WRO? Is that what Reeve was getting too? Then they mentioned a plan and that . . ._

"An e-mail . . ." she mumbled, her pen frozen, hovering over the half filled page of her deductions.

Dropping the pen into its multi-coloured holder, she pushed the book away from her turning to the new, state of the art computer that sat at the back of the desk. Pushing her chair back slightly, she brought the keyboard out from its hidden position, moving the mouse to bring the screen to life. As the screen crackled to life, the brightness of the screen momentarily blinding her.

With a few clicks from her mouse, she found herself on a familiar password prompt for the WRO email accounts. There was a small chance – a _very_ small chance – that Denzel might still use this account and his password . . .

When they were eight they had made up a silly password for their _"secret headquarters"_ – their bedroom. It was a long shot, but _maybe_ that was his password – no one would know it . . . well, not really anyway.

Moving her fingers from the mouse to the keyboard, she quickly typed in the old password, leaning back in her chair as she hit enter. Moments later, a smirk appeared on her features as the screen changed – she was in. Leaning forward in anticipation, she scrolled down, reading the different headings and people who'd sent Denzel e-mails. He didn't get many, she soon realized.

It didn't take her long to find the email she was looking for. As she clicked on the message, her breath caught as she recognized the return address: _The Wutai Embassy._

Her head swam as she tried to make sense of that, hardly able to focus on the written message.

_She was right_, her head kept chanting at her. _Denzel **was** working with Wutai to locate Yuffie . . . he was . . . he was _double crossing them? Biting down on her lip, Marlene let out a sigh, leaning her head into her palm.

Denzel wasn't trustable and no one believed her . . . she was on her own here . . .

--

Everything is slowly starting to rear its ugly head and we're on our way to the entertaining parts . . .


	17. 17: On The Go

_If she had wings she would fly away,  
And another day God will give her some.  
Trouble is the only way down.  
Down, down.  
As strong as you were, tender you go.  
I'm watching you breathing for the last time.  
A song for your heart, but when it is quiet,  
I know what it means and I'll carry you home._

_Carry you home - James Blunt  
__  
---_

The next morning, Denzel let out a sigh as the elevator dinged, alerting him that they'd arrived at their desired destination. As the doors sprung open, the carpeted hallway reaching out to meet them, he let out a sigh. It was _now _or _never_. Stepping out of the elevator, the doors closing soundly behind him, he quickly made his way down the hallway.

He just wanted to get _out_ of there.

His mind was a mile away from the towering headquarters of the WRO.

It was too _odd_ being back here. He was used to hearing his steps slap heavily, angrily, against the floor under him; while here, the carpet muffled every sound.

Counting the doors to his right, he stopped as he reached the sixth door. Blinking, the sun shining brightly through the large window at the end of the hall, he turned, reaching out a hand. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

He didn't have to wait long for an answer. "Come in," he heard Reeve's muffled voice.

Nodding to himself – he could do this – Denzel grabbed the doorknob, pushing it open. He blinked a couple times, the room darker then the hallway outside. Reeve sat at his desk, the blinds behind him closed. The lights on either side of the desk were lit up, his computer screen casting a light glow against Reeve's face and the blinds behind him. Eyebrow raised – what _was_ Reeve doing in here? – he closed the door behind him, effectively blocking out the light.

Reeve glanced away from the computer screen, his mouse clicking on something, hiding something. "Denzel, this is a surprise."

Denzel nodded, moving slowly to sit in the chair opposite from Reeve. Little did he know, Marlene had been there earlier . . . "I know it's a bit early, but I don't think I can wait."

Reeve nodded, turning in his chair to look over at the teenager. Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned back in his chair, a frown on his features. "That is quite alright, there is a couple things that I need to talk to you about as well," he raised an eyebrow slightly as his words made Denzel shift, suddenly uncomfortable. "Denzel, are you alright?"

Denzel looked up, his uncomfortable look disappearing. "No, I'm fine, tired maybe. You should go first, _Commander_. What did you want to talk about?"

He hadn't expected that Reeve would have something to say to him, what _would_ he have to say anyway? He was always allowed to go wherever he wanted too. It had never really mattered before, Reeve _trusted_ him. Shaking his head minutely to his inner dilemma, he focused his attention back to Reeve, the dark haired Commander watching him intently from across the desk.

"Marlene was in here to speak with me last night . . ."

_Marlene_ . . . what did she do _now_?

"She was worried about you. She mentioned that the phone Shelke had given you had been destroyed."

_Damn that Marlene_, his mind hissed at him.

He couldn't believe Marlene had run to Reeve about him. Who knew Marlene would _still_ be a tattle-tale.

Denzel let out a snort, shaking his head. "Unfortunately, Shelke didn't seem to take Reno into account. He's . . . well, he shouldn't be around technology when he's drunk. You know what I mean? Che, he doesn't listen to anyone but Rude anyway," Denzel shrugged, rolling his eyes.

That sounded like something Reno would do.

Reeve nodded slowly. "So, Reno _broke_ your phone while drunk?" He summarized; his tone disbelieving. "_Why_ would you give it to Reno anyway? He's not the most careful."

Denzel's eyes narrowed slightly before shaking his head. "It was on the table, stupid jerk found it."

Reeve nodded. He could imagine Reno breaking it, he wasn't the most _careful_.

"Commander?"

Reeve shook his head, glancing across the desk at the teenager. "No, it's nothing of importance."

"Uh huh, alright," Denzel said slowly, raising an eyebrow slightly. Reeve was hiding something – _what_ had Marlene told him? "Is that all?"

"Oh, yes, that was all. Shelke still has a couple prototype phones lying around; you'll just have to settle for one of those for now."

"What _happened _to Shelke anyway? She didn't seem the type to . . . be defeated . . ."

Reeve paused, his back to Denzel, his eyebrows raised. Moving to open up the cabinet against the wall – not trying to make any indications – he shrugged. "I'm sure Marlene told you about that, right?"

"She said that Shelke was doing something in her terminal and that something happened to her."

Reeve nodded, turning back around, a small cell phone in hand. "In a nutshell, that is what happened to her."

"What was she doing in there?"

Reeve shrugged, holding the phone out. "I'm not sure. Surely by now, you know how Shelke works, she is very secretive. Until she wakes up, we can only speculate what she was up to."

Denzel nodded, inwardly frowning. Seems like _everyone_ had their stories down pact. "All that aside, I did have a reason to come and see you," Denzel nodded as he took the phone from Reeve, shoving it in his pocket. "Although I haven't been around lately, Bridget is getting antsy again. Her sister called her from the Golden Saucer," Denzel shrugged. "Anyways, Gongaga isn't far from there, and since they're not here, I'm guessing that the Turks are still there?"

Reeve nodded slowly. "Well, yes, I would assume that they're still there." He'd have to check back with them then . . .

"Good, good," Denzel muttered, glancing over Reeve's shoulder to the drawn window. "Would you mind if we left soon? Bridget tends to get . . . _intolerable_ when she doesn't get what she wants."

Reeve nodded again, his dark eyes watching as Denzel pushing himself out of the chair, heading towards the door. As the office door closed behind the teenager, Reeve let out a sigh, leaning back in his chair, frowning.

Denzel was up to something, he could tell.

Had _Marlene_ been right?

But . . . Denzel wouldn't _betray_ them, would he?

---

Yuffie let out a small groan as the light from the large window filtered in. Not wanting to get up yet – she was _so_ comfortable – she shifted slightly, turning her back on the brightness behind her. Shifting into a more comfortable position, cramming the pillow under her light hair, she paused as she brought her legs up, brushing against something.

Slowly, as to not draw attention to herself, she opened her eyes.

She blinked, her face no doubt turning red as she noticed _Vincent_ on the other side of the bed.

Frowning, she slowly sat up, the sheets pooling around her waist.

She knew what _must_ have happened. She couldn't help but grinning madly at the fact that she got to _actually_ kiss Vincent Valentine – she'd wanted to do that for how long? Obviously, after sitting on the couch for who knows how long, she had obviously fallen asleep. Her heart fluttered slightly, a blush creeping across her face as she figured Vincent must have moved her onto the bed.

"Awe, Vinnie," she muttered, shaking her head.

Smiling slightly, she cast her storm grey eyes down at the sleeping gunslinger. She bit down on her lip, resisting the urge to reach down and brush the long hair out of his face. She let out a sigh, she knew Vincent _cared_ about her; he went through all of that for her. Because of her; he had been run out of his Nibelheim Manor and was now facing a _war_ between the WRO and the Wutai Empire.

She had seen _enough_ of war.

She hated to this to him, but, she _had_ to see this through.

She had to finish this _her_ **way**. She had started all this and she was going to _finish_ it.

Yuffie Kisaragi was _running_ away.

Shaking her head – she couldn't believe she was actually doing this – she pushed the covers away from her, scooting over to the end of the bed. A shiver ran up her spine as her feet hit the cool floor. Slowly, quietly she moved across the room; this would be so much more difficult then it already was if Vincent was to wake up. She paused as she reached the small breeze way, casting a glance back at the sleeping gunslinger.

"I _am_ sorry Vincent," she muttered, biting down on her lip. After everything they'd already been through, how would he be able to forgive her after this? "But, you'll figure out that this is the _only_ way. I know you will . . ."

She nodded at her own words. Yes, she believed that. She knew Vincent would figure it out – and _after_ he got over his anger, he might forgive her. _Maybe, _she wasn't really sure. Turning her back on the gunslinger, she slowly inched open the closet doors, wincing as the doors creaked in protest. A glance back at Vincent told her that he hadn't woken up. Letting out a sigh of relief, she quickly rooted through the clothes, looking for that old, travel-worn poncho she'd worn during the Omega Incident.

There was _something_ about that article of clothing she was attached too.

And as many times as she told herself; she knew it was because she'd _saved_ Vincent while wearing that.

Pulling it off the hanger, she quickly threw it on over her clothes, pulling her dyed hair out from underneath it. Kneeling down slightly, she quickly found her old shoes – shoved in the back corner, no less – slipping into the canvas shoes. Like hell she was going to wear those high heeled shoes Tifa had said would go '_perfectly' _with her new style. Rolling her eyes, Yuffie bit back a laugh as she wondered what Tifa would say about her appearance now. Closing the closet doors again, she frowned as she caught sight of herself in the adjacent mirror, she didn't _look_ like herself.

Blonde hair just _wasn't_ **her**.

With purpose now, she quickly crossed the room, her dark eyes on the large window doubling as the balcony doors. With lithe steps, she crossed the room in little time, pushing the thin drapes back enough so she could slip inside. She rolled her eyes at the lock – a _sliding bar_? What the hell had Reeve been thinking when he'd installed that?

"Sorry Vinnie," she muttered once again, as she slid the bar across. "I know you'll want to kick my ass for this."

With a sigh – she was _really_ doing this – she grabbed the handlebar, pushing it back. As the cold hair whirled through the tiny opening; making the drapes ripple slightly, a few snowflakes finding their way inside, she slipped out through the opening.

It felt good to be back outside.

She didn't _need_ Tifa or Shera following her around – she knew her way around Junon. _Hello_, didn't she manage to sneak her way past ShinRa soldiers just to rescue Tifa and Barret from execution? It was the _same_, just the _people_ had changed. It seemed more underground then it used to. She shrugged it off as she closed the balcony door again – she supposed the WRO would be a good umbrella for those looking to hide out. She didn't know and didn't really care.

"And, this is how it all ends, I bid you adios."

A smile on her lips, Yuffie spun around on her heels, her footsteps echoing against the tiny fire escape. Hands gripping the railing, Yuffie ran down the steps as quickly as she could, leaving only her footprints behind.

She _knew_ she had to get _far_ away from the WRO and Junon before they realized she was missing . . .

And that was how Yuffie Kisaragi, heir to the Wutai throne _**disappeared **_into the night . . .

---

Marlene sighed, dropping her small bag onto the bed before her. Having friends in high places paid off; one flash of her identification card and she could go _anywhere_. With a tiny smile on her face, she dropped heavily down onto the bed as well. Drawing her knees up, she dropped her chin on top of her kneecaps, brown eyes looking around the boring room.

_Some_ room . . . beige walls, beige curtains – could that _really_ keep the light out – and a beige bed. At least it looked clean; she could see the tracks the vacuum cleaned had left in the carpet. She shrugged though, it didn't really matter what her room looked like, she wasn't going to be there too long anyway.

"I just can't believe this," she muttered, shaking her head, her eyes settling on her bag, the seams close to bursting. "I mean _really_ . . . it's so **stupid**!"

Regaining her train of thought, she reached across the bed, shifting slightly so that her legs were beneath her; she unzipped it and turned it upside down. Shaking the bag for good measure before taking a quick glance inside, she tossed the bag to the other side of the wall, crumpling as it connected with the wall. Her bed, which was now covered with her knick knack goodies, she grinned as she looked over it, sifting through it all.

She had a folded up map, the cover of it almost completely faded away. She moved that to her left side, she needed to look at that again, get her bearings. Her small digital camera glinted up at her, making the small teenager grip it greedily, dropping it into her lap. She'd need that for her _look_. A stack of peppermint gum – a majority of which she shoved into her jean pockets, and her wallet – which she put in her coat's inside pocket. She _needed_ that close by. The rest of her stuff – the latest book she was reading, paper and pens, the latter every single colour, and her stack of CD's and her mini CD player she quickly shoved back into the bag.

She had to frown, that was all the heavy stuff. All that was left on her bed now, she noticed, was a bunch of clothes, _just_ what she was going to need. Pushing herself off the bed, Marlene placed her hands on her hips as she looked at the strewn clothes before her. What _was_ she going to wear? Shrugging out of her coat, she dropped it onto the chair behind her – the room was so _small_ – she leaned over, running her hand across the different coloured fabrics.

She _really_ liked the clothes she was wearing, but she needed something else for the time being. She shook her head; her father _would_ kill her if he knew she hadn't thrown the clothes she wore now. _Spandex on my lil girl just ain't right_, her father had exclaimed at the time. She rolled her eyes, her father needed to get over it already, she wasn't five anymore!

Her shirt was black, one she tended to use only for working out, and seemed to hug to her features – _that_ was probably what made her father cringe. Like she cared though, she needed some space . . . talk about an _over protective_ father. Adorning her legs was a pair of tights that were also as dark as night. She shook her head to dispel her thoughts in order to get back to the task before her.

A _tourist_ – that was the hardest thing to come across as, she'd been all over the world too many times now.

She grumbled as one by one, her clothes got tossed from the bed to the floor. "Why do I have so much _crap_?" Marlene grumbled when more then half the clothes were on the floor.

That was the _last_ time she ever went shopping with Tifa and Shera, she thought with a frown. Shopping with the two of them usually tended to turn into an entire day event, making her wonder how much they _actually_ put on their credit cards.

Saving the world _must_ pay well, **real** well.

"Focus," she muttered to herself, turning her attention back to the dilemma at hand. After a couple minutes of hmming and hahing, Marlene finally decided on the royal blue turtleneck (it was much better then the baby pink one) and a pair of jeans. "Not too bad," she mumbled to herself as she glanced at herself in the mirror. "I just have to blend in now."

"Attention all patrons, we will soon be docking on the mainland. Please grab your belongings and thank you for travelling _Continental_ _Seas_."

Marlene allowed a tiny grin to appear on her features. "Just in time too!"

Spinning around on her heels, Marlene crossed the room, scooping her bag up from its forlorn place on the floor. Kneeling down on the floor, she scooped up her clothes, quickly folding them up before placing them on top, covering her knick-knacks. She picked up her brown coat from the chair beside her, shrugging herself into it. Then, shouldering the bag as she stood up, she picked up the camera on her bed and pocketed the folded map in her jean pockets.

With a final look in the mirror, she grinned at her reflection. Total tourist – a map in her back pocket, a camera hanging off of her arm and a bag full of goodies, this was going to work. Shaking her head, her grin turning into a smirk, she pulled her short hair out of the confines of her coat, the light above glinting against her recently dyed red hair.

And without a look back at the small room, she pulled her door open, blending in seamlessly with the people milling around the deck.

---

A/**N**

Denzel's leaving. Marlene's up to something. Yuffie's running away.

Things are never dull with the WRO.

The song used is in reference to Yuffie leaving the WRO that night. The idea behind it was that it's talking about getting wings and flying away from your troubles. Since Yuffie has been trying to run away from her problems with Wutai, I thought it would suit well. _'Watching you breathing for the last time'_ - well, since she doesn't know what Chekov might do (she could lose after all) and then, she might not see Vincent again. So, in a nutshell, she's _trying_ to say goodbye ... just in case something happens.


	18. 18: Theme

_If you believe it's in my soul,  
I'd say all the words that I know,  
Just to see if it would show,  
That I'm trying to let you know,  
That I'm better off on my own. _

This place is so empty,  
My thoughts are so tempting,  
I don't know how it got so bad.  
Sometimes it's so crazy,  
that nothing can save me,  
But it's the only thing that I have.

_Pieces -- Sum 41_

Tifa stalked down the hallway, her wine coloured eyes focused on the large, opened doors of the expansive kitchen. She couldn't believe it. Marlene was usually the first one up, sitting in her window sill, her latest book open in her lap.

_She had been surprised when she had thrown open Marlene's door, the room pitch dark; that was odd. With narrowed eyes, Tifa had flipped the light switch, momentarily surprised that Marlene was still in bed. She shook her head, either Marlene had spent all night down in Denzel's room, or judging from the wrapping paper adorning her desk, Marlene had spent most of the night wrapping presents._

"_Come on Marlene," she had called, moving quietly into the room._

_Marlene must have been up real late . . ._

_Stopping beside the bed, Tifa frowned, her intuition getting the better part of her. She could feel it, something was _wrong_. Placing one hand on her hip, a frown marring her features again, she pulled the blankets back with her spare hand. _

_Her mouth fell open. Where 'Marlene' was supposed to be, there were pillows. Pillows scrunched up to look like her. Shaking her head, regaining her power of speech and movement, Tifa stumbled backwards, mumbling to herself in disbelief._

_Marlene was _**gone**_. _

Tifa slowed as she came upon the kitchen door, hearing the rumble of a few voices inside.

"So, he's gone, just like that?" she heard Cid say, no doubt, she figured, he was shaking his head as well.

She heard Barret mutter something as a reply, his low voice drowned out by a sudden clinking of cutlery and places. She heard Shera laugh lightly from the counter top, followed by her footsteps as she must have dropped a couple plates on the large table.

"Eat," she commanded; no doubt with a stern glare at whoever it was. "But, I must say, I am kind of glad. He was acting a bit strange . . . _jumpy_ maybe? And that girl he was with . . . you want to talk about someone being _frigid_ . . . ."

"War does that to you," Barret said in a bored tone. "It ain't no happy field, Shera."

"I know that," she retorted, a chair scraping against the floor below. "But to change _that_ much – where was he anyway, Reeve?"

"Everywhere; but he has spent the most of his time in Gongaga, trying to help rebuild it. No – don't ask me why he's so interested in that place."

"Probably wants to be a _Turk_," Cid grumbled, his voice muffled. "Ever seen him with a gun? He's probably half as good as Vincent."

"Half doesn't mean anything," Shera argued, shaking her head. "_Half_ just means you're going to get killed faster."

Tifa shook her head as she heard their usual friendly bickering as she came around the corner. Muttering a _hello_ to the group – Cloud muttering a hello back, staring interestingly at the usually bickering couple – Tifa stopped at the counter, humming slightly to herself as she grabbed a bowl from the cupboard above as she grabbed the first cereal box she came across, dumping some of the contents into her bowl. Upon finding a spoon, Tifa made her way back to the table, sitting down across from Cloud.

"We have a problem."

"No kidding," Barret grumbled; a frown on his features. "That damn Denzel's off and gone again, Reeve just let him _go_."

"You let him go?" Tifa repeated, glancing back at Reeve, momentarily distracted. "Oh, but that's _not_ my point," Tifa shook her head, getting herself back on track. "_Marlene_ . . . Marlene's _**gone**_ –"

"She's WHAT?!"

Barret's eyes narrowed as he shot up out of his chair, slamming his fist heavily down on the tabletop. The cutlery jumped slightly from the impact – earning himself a dark glare from Shera. Tifa, on the other hand, merely sighed. From her time in the Seventh Heaven and travelling the world with the burly man, his explosive anger hardly fazed her after all this time.

"She's _gone_, Barret. It's as simple as that . . . Marlene wasn't upstairs," she shook her head, if Denzel was gone . . . it was hardly a coincidence right? "All her things are gone too. I . . . ugh, where would she _go_?"

"Whatever it is, she is _never_ seeing the light of day when she gets back here!" Barret grumbled with a frown, still standing up.

"Would she have gone to Costa del Sol, to see Elmyra?" Shera ventured; a cup of coffee in her hands. "She was very close to her."

Tifa shook her head, shrugging slightly. "It might be a possibility, but . . . to leave _that_ early? She was long gone before any of us must have gotten up – her bed was far from warm – if she was seeing Elmyra, why would she leave like that? She's _never_ been that secretive before."

"She _ran_ off with Denzel," Barret broke in, finally relenting and sitting back down with a deep scowl. "I always knew that boy was bad news."

"Oh you did not," Tifa said, throwing him a patronizing look. "You practically shoved him onto me to look after when you found him on the Corel Plains; you didn't think he was bad news _then_."

Barret snorted, rolling his eyes. "He ain't seven anymore, Teef."

Shera let out a tiny laugh, setting her coffee cup down. "That was weak, Barret. I think Tifa's got you there."

"That's not our _only_ problem," Vincent said, having slipped unnoticed into the room during Barret and Tifa's heated discussion. Tifa sent one last look in the direction of Barret before turning her attention to Vincent, confusion written across the bartenders face. Vincent shook his head, a frown appearing on his features. "_Yuffie_ is **gone** as well."

"WHAT?!" Tifa yelled; she hadn't seen that one coming.

"Oh _great_," Cid said, fumbling for a cigarette. "It figures she'd go AWOL on us eventually."

"Leave it to her," Barret muttered, his frown deepening. "She's _always_ causing us trouble."

"Where would she have gone _now_?" Shera mumbled, a frown appearing on her features as she brought her eyebrows together. "That's not good . . ."

Reeve shook his head. "Yuffie's gone as well . . . this isn't good at all . . ."

"We've lost Shelke . . . Denzel's left and Marlene and Yuffie are missing . . . do you think they might have gone to Elmyra's together?"

Tifa shook her head, dispelling the thought. "Yuffie doesn't want to visit Elmyra . . . she doesn't want to reopen the wounds Aeris's death caused. Where would she have gone?" Tifa drummed her fingers on the table, running over the different places in Gaea that they'd visited. "Would she have gone to the _Golden Saucer_? She always wanted to gamble . . ."

"I'm sure I know where she went," Vincent shook his head. "She's gone to Wutai to settle things with Chekov. She is, without a doubt, still blaming herself for everything that's happened lately. She plans to settle it in her own way."

"Vincent . . ." Tifa trailed off, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm going after her," he muttered, pushing himself away from the table. "She's not thinking this through."

"How like her," Barret grumbled, running a hand over his face. "She's _always_ running off like this; she better not have stolen anything this time 'round. I say we just let her sink or swim this time."

"Barret!" Tifa shouted sharply from across the table, sending the darker man a glare. "Yuffie's our friend; we're _not_ going to lose her again."

Shaking her head, she pushed her cereal bowl away from her, no longer interested in it. With a sigh, she pushed her chair back, her footsteps echoing against the laminate flooring underneath her as she left the room. Once out of sight, she glanced around the empty hallway, frowning when she heard the ding of the elevator. Rolling her eyes, a slight frown on her features, she moved quickly down the hallway, opening the door the concrete stairwell.

Vincent knew what was going on with Yuffie and Wutai.

And she _wasn't_ going to let him go until he told her everything.

She'd had enough of their secrets.

---

Marlene fidgeted as she moved around the oriental town, every so often her hands moving up to touch the straps of her backpack – just to be sure it was still there. She had _never_ gone out on a mission on her own before – her father was so overprotective and they didn't think she could handle it. She rolled her eyes as she thought that, how _annoying_? What was her point in being in the WRO then? She didn't do anything other then watch television and go shopping.

That was _so_ fun after the tenth week.

Trying to blend in with the tourists – she had told the border guards that she was on vacation to get away for the holidays – she brought her camera up, snapping a photo of the ornate brick red bridge leading to the Turtle Paradise Pub. If anything, it looked picture perfect, as no one was hanging around out front. From the stories Yuffie had told her, she knew the pub would be full of people tonight.

_Note to self – find a hotel room closer to the Wutai Palace._

Grinning to herself – trying to act like a normal thirteen year old who was '_visiting'_ the oriental country for the first time – she skipped across the picturesque bridge, trying her hardest to look naïve. Weaving through the bridges, taking the odd photo of scenery and the water below the bridges she stood on, she soon found herself standing in front of the small inn situated above the item shop Yuffie had shown them once.

Moving towards the small store, she had the hardest time keeping her eyes straight ahead of her. The woods were to her left, hiding the Wutai throne from view. She bit down on her lip as she opened the store's door, the view of the trees blocked as she disappeared inside.

She'd have to wait until after dark.

Taking a deep breath, composing herself, Marlene marched up to the front counter, undoing her coat in the process. She stopped before the desk, an older woman on the other side, grinning up at her. "I'd like a room for two please."

The woman raised an eyebrow as she looked over her computer screen at the smaller girl on the other side. "How old are you, honey? We can't rent a room to anyone until sixteen without a parent or guardian present."

Marlene bit back a smug grin – she'd _already_ thought of that. She shook her head, shrugging out of her backpack. "I'm here with my father, he's still out in the town sightseeing. He's interested in the Dao Chao mountains, I _think_ he plans on climbing it," she shook her head. "But, he sent me here to get a room, I'm not really into climbing rocks." She wrinkled her nose to make her point known.

And Tifa said she _couldn't_ act.

The woman nodded, her fingers moving across her keyboard. "How will you be paying for this room?"

Marlene held up one finger as she leaned down, routing through her backpack of knick knacks. She stood back up as she found her wallet, extracting a plastic rectangle from within. "Here, I have this," she gulped as she past the card over to the woman. "That's my dad's."

"Alright," the woman nodded, typing the information into her computer. "Room Five is all yours, Miss. ----------"

Thanking the woman as she pocketed the card, she took the room key, twirling it around her finger. Leaving the desk behind, she started down the hallway the woman had pointed her in, smirking as she turned the corner, out of sight.

That was _too_ easy.

As she called for the elevator, she let out a sigh. All this seemed easy compared to, what was no doubt, waiting for her at home.

They'd be disappointed that she had run away from them, into the middle of the danger.

But, her father would be more upset when he realized she stole his credit card.

---

Yuffie couldn't help but cringe as she stepped off the small boat onto Wutai soil. She scrunched up her nose – she didn't think she'd _ever_ be back here this soon. Shaking her head, her dark hair falling into her eyes, she turned around, glancing at the four people in the small craft. Wordlessly, she took the heavy bag they offered to her, dropping it to the ground. Kneeling beside the bag, she rooted through it, quickly finding what she needed. An elastic around her wrist, she reached back, and with a couple twists and a snap of the elastic, had her hair pinned to her head.

"How do I look?" she asked, fitting the reddish coloured wig over her (again) recently dyed black hair.

The one who handed her the backpack, shrugged. "You'll still be the brat, you know," he ducked as the woman behind him tried to swat him. "Aw, come on, you _know_ it's true."

"Whatever," she scoffed, pushing him aside. Rolling her eyes, she glanced up, locking eyes with Yuffie. "Are you sure this is such a good idea?"

"Since when have her ideas been good?" He muttered, pushing her restraining arms away. "She _always _thought later . . . you know that. Why would she change now?"

"Shut up; or I swear I'll –"

"Enough, both of you," the sharp voice from the back said. The two fell silent with a sigh and a glare at one another before falling back, away from one another. Standing tall, the one who lounged at the back shifted, moving to the edge of the boat, locking eyes with Yuffie, his eyes intense. "Now, are you sure you can handle this?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure . . ."

Before she could say more he had leaned forward, grabbing her arm. "There's no _pretty sure_ about this, you either know you can do this or I _will_ drag you back there this second. They would have realized you were gone now."

Yuffie frowned at him, trying to pull her arm back with no avail. "I'm not going back there till this is all done. I told you all this already! He's not going to stop until he gets to me – you _agreed _to help me – I won't go back."

"I know," he grumbled, letting go of her arm. "If there's _one_ thing I hate, it's a stubborn woman."

Yuffie frowned at him, before shaking her head. "You know, I owe you for this _Rufus_."

"Don't I know it," he grumbled, narrowing his eyes on her. "You know where we'll be," Yuffie nodded. "I'm giving you _two_ days, you hear me? You get it finished within that time or you're stuck here until your next escape plan."

Yuffie nodded. "I understand. Well take care . . . until we see each other again."

With a wave at the small group, Yuffie turned on her heel, heading away from the small clearing. Shifting her backpack, she glanced back as she heard the boat rev up, turning itself around in the water. So, she was finally alone. As she located the small path that wove through the Wutai forest and would eventually lead her to the back of the Pagoda, she suppressed a shudder.

"It's now or never," she muttered, her eyes locking onto the top floor of the Pagoda above the trees.

And she squared her shoulders, she took a deep breath as she started forward, disappearing into the dense forest.

---

Tifa was hardly out of breath as she pushed open the door to the group's personal floor. Figuring that the elevator would have, without a doubt, beat her up here, she started down the hallway at a quickened pace. She _really_ wasn't in the mood to spend the entire day searching for Vincent Valentine – something that was nearly impossible. Keeping her eyes on the doors, she stopped when she came to the final door before the bend in the hallway.

With a sigh, Tifa raised a fist, knocking loudly on the door. "Vincent, open up."

Dropping her hand, she crossed her arms over her chest as she tapped her foot impatiently. _He better answer_, she thought with a roll of her eyes. He should know her better then that now. She didn't plan on leaving until she had the answers she wanted. Her head reeling with what she wanted to know, she didn't hear the soft, carpeted footsteps of someone behind her, stopping a couple feet away.

"Tifa . . . to what can I do for you this morning?"

Jumping at the low voice, Tifa whirled around, hands drawing up in a fist subconsciously. Spotting Vincent glancing down at her, she allowed her pose to loosen up, grinning at Vincent as she dropped her arms to her side. "Vincent, I want to talk to you about Yuffie," her words were guarded as she watched Vincent's movements. "I know you know what's been going on with her – I want to know _everything_."

"Do you now?" Vincent muttered, moving past her as he protruded the room key from his pocket. "Yuffie doesn't wish you all to know what is going on as you will, no doubt, run off to Wutai to solve this. Unfortunately, this is something that _Wutai_ must solve. So, if you still wish to know, you cannot run off to Wutai after this is over with and you cannot tell the others."

Tifa nodded, moving to lean against the wall as Vincent unlocked his door. "You should know me better then that by now, Vince. I'm not one to tell other peoples secrets; I _do_ have my own as well." She shook her head as Vincent looked at her, eyebrow raised slightly. "Don't worry about it, its nothing of any real matter."

Vincent nodded, pushing his bedroom door open, ushering Tifa inside. She nodded as she pushed herself off the wall, making her way into the room. Having designed the rooms the exact same way, Tifa was already situated in Vincent's living room when he flicked on the lights. Locking the door behind him with a faint click, he made his way into the living, dropping into the chair across from Tifa.

"Now, what is you want to know specifically?"

Tifa sighed, leaning back in the chair. "I want to know what happened in Wutai above all else. I want to know the whole story; what happened to Yuffie, why she ran away and what she's hiding from the rest of it. Vincent, she _knows_ what's going on here, correct?"

Vincent nodded, his crimson eyes locked with her wine coloured ones. "She's had time to think and piece it all together . . . she knows the cause of everything that has happened and what is to come –"

"We all _know_ who started all this, it was Chekov."

Vincent shook his head, holding up a hand to stop her. "No, _Yuffie_ is what started it all . . . she is the catalyst so to speak. If she had stayed in Wutai, everything would have remained the way it had been. And because of that, Yuffie is the only one who can stop what is happening. She knows what to do."

Tifa frowned, taking in what Vincent had said. "That doesn't _explain_ everything though, and you know that. So, it all started because she ran off and her return to Wutai is the only thing that could return stuff to normal. But, for Chekov to do _all_ that just to get her back in his possession . . . what has been going on in Wutai. I want to know – no more beating around the bush."

Vincent shook his head, Tifa was impossible to deter. No doubt, her desire to head off to Wutai, fists drawn would return – regardless of her words that she wouldn't _do_ anything.

"I have all the time in the world, Vincent," Tifa said, cutting into his thoughts.

Vincent nodded, breaking away from his thoughts to glance up at Tifa, holding her gaze. "You might as well get comfortable," he muttered darkly, shifting slightly on the couch. "It turns out a lot can happen in three years . . ."

---

AN;

Everyone's moving for the final confrontation . . .

Without knowing the others are coming as well.


	19. 19: Perspective

Bridget couldn't help but grin as she glanced out the helicopter's window. As she watched the ocean below them quickly rush by, she could start to see the outline of the oriental country she hadn't seen for what felt like forever. Although she _had_ enjoyed seeing the rest of Gaea – who knew gambling in the Golden Saucer could be _so_ addicting – she was glad to be going back home as well. It had been a while – too long, actually.

"Can't you go any faster," Bridget whined, tearing her eyes away from the window to Liam, sitting in the pilot's seat.

She didn't have to be beside him to know that he was rolling her eyes at her complaint; like always. He shook his head, tilting the gear shift in front of him slightly. Bridget huffed, moving to unbuckle her seatbelt. If he wasn't going to answer her . . .

"_Calm down_, Bridget," Denzel said, shooting a dark glare back at her. Bridget paused, hands on her seatbelt, to glance up at him, eyebrows raised. "We're almost there – and _no_, we're got going to go faster for you. Of _all_ people, you should know how Wutai gets about aircrafts over their land . . . any faster and they'll get suspicious."

Bridget frowned, dropping her hands from the buckle. "I hate it when you're right," she grumbled, throwing herself back in the chair, arms crossed over her chest.

Denzel shrugged, smirking at her before turning away from her. Bridget narrowed her eyes at him; he was _mocking_ her again, wasn't he? Stupid Jerk . . . he wouldn't do that to _Marlene_. She curled her nose up at that thought, the brunette girl seemed to rub her wrong way – she _hated_ her. Shaking her head, she sunk down in her chair, and with a well aimed kick, kicked the back of Denzel's chair.

The reaction she got was instant.

"What the hell was that for?" Denzel shouted, glaring back hatefully at her. "You're so annoying, damn it."

"You're such an ass, Denzel . . . you deserved it," Bridget commented, her smile turning up into a smirk. "Don't you talk down to me!"

Liam sighed, tilting the gear shift more, preparing for a landing over the oriental country. "Enough, both of you; Denzel, stop patronizing her, _or whatever she thinks you're doing_," he said, muttering the last part so Bridget wouldn't have a chance of hearing them. "And Bridget," he said, fixing her a short glare over his shoulder. "Don't you kick _my_ helicopter again, or I swear, I'll let Denzel throw you out next time."

"My god," Bridget hissed, rolling her eyes at them before returning her gaze to the window. "You guys are seriously wound up, maybe you guys should calm down . . . ah! We're here!"

Bridget grinned widely, looking greedily down at the oriental country, she was finally back. She could hear Denzel and Liam speaking about something in low tones, but she couldn't find it in her to care. As she felt the helicopter start to descend, she reached down, quickly unbuckling her seatbelt. She wanted – no, she _had_ to be first one to step back on Wutai soil. Glancing out the window once more, she could see the paved area more clearly now, the grass ruffling from the wind the helicopters propellers were making, she couldn't help but grin.

"Come on Liam, _hurry_ up. I totally want off of this thing . . . we have so much stuff to do now!"

Liam nodded tow what she said, intent on lowering the helicopter smoothly to the ground below.

"You're too much like Cid," Denzel muttered lowly, smirking at the other male. "Anyway, we'll be soon there Bridget – that is, unless you want to jump off now."

"No way, Denzel – don't you start that again," she hissed, stomping from her position in the back, near the mechanical ramp to where Liam and Denzel sat. "Come on, Liam, tilt it more," she rolled her eyes, stretching over Liam, pushing the gear shift down more.

The helicopter surged downward rapidly, the ground rushing up quicker then expected before Liam was able to smack Bridget's hand away, shouting out a curse at the girl. Bridget let out an awkward laugh, stumbling backwards as Liam tried to adjust the controls, his hands rapidly pushing the buttons. Denzel on the other hand, had time to look back at Bridget as she pushed herself off the floor with a grumble.

"Damn it, Bridget! I swear, I'm going to throw you out right now!" Denzel hissed, releasing the seatbelt that held him down.

Bridget glared at him, hands on her hips as she held her ground. "You wouldn't dare hurt a girl! 'Sides, I'm your _partner_, remember? You can't do anything."

Denzel rolled his eyes as he pushed himself out of the chair, his eyes locked on hers. "Too bad there's not a _real_ girl here, I only see you."

Liam sighed, shaking his head slightly as he heard Bridget let out a screech, before, no doubt, launching herself at the sandy haired leader. Ignoring the two's scuffle behind him, he lowered the hatch that contained the stabilizing wheels beneath the plane as he moved to turn down the engines.

_Three . . . Two . . . One . . ._

The plane touched down on the rough pavement, causing a jerk throughout the plane. He rolled his eyes as he heard a stifled yell from Bridget as her and Denzel collided from the jerk, followed by a loud thud as the two of them tumbled to the ground. He fought back a grin as he heard them groan, muttering – mostly angrily – about the sudden stop.

"That's why you're supposed to keep your seatbelts on until the end," Liam called, his voice blank as he started the shut down and cooling of the helicopter. Occupied by what he was doing and not wanting to hear their complaints, he waved a hand vaguely over his head at them. "I'm going to be a little while, you guys might as well go on ahead, I'll catch up later."

"Sounds good," Bridget said, the wind knocked out of her. "Now, Denzel _get_off me."

"This isn't exactly where I want to be either," Denzel nodded, moving to get off Bridget. "We've got things to do."

When they had fallen, Bridget had tumbled, hands and feet flailing before her back connected with the metal flooring, her chair not far from her head. Denzel, had also fallen, and having had Bridget's arm in his hand, had tumbled down with her. Bridget had let out an _oof__!_ when he fell on her, obviously she hadn't expected the added weight.

"Augh, I'm _so_ going to have a headache tomorrow," Bridget grumbled as she stood up, brushing Denzel's outstretched hand away from her. "Let's get this over with . . . I need some sleep."

Denzel nodded, moving away from her to the metal door, turning the handle. He heard Bridget moan behind him as he opened the door, allowing the bright sunlight into the room. As Bridget muttered behind him as she fumbled through her large bag for her sunglasses, he stepped out of the helicopter and onto the ramp that had been rolled out by them.

"Good morning Mr. Timlin, Miss. Brooks, we are glad that you both and Mr. Credene have made it back safely," Denzel shifted slightly as Bridget appeared at his side, wearing her oversized sunglasses. "Our Lord Chekov is waiting to see you all, if you will follow me, there is many things to discuss in a short time frame."

"Good," Bridget grinned, pushing past Denzel and bouncing down the small ramp. "I so need a nap after this . . . hurry it up Denzel, I need sleep . . ."

Denzel shook his head, following slowly after the girl, who was already at the bottom of the ramp, waiting impatiently for him beside the flight attendance. "Bridget, if you let it slip that you're tired, it will drag on longer then necessary, so please be quiet," he held her gaze for a couple moments, before looking back at the flight attendant a couple steps away.

Bridget nodded slightly, remembering the odd personality the Lord of Wutai possessed. Glancing from Denzel to the Pagoda looming over the trees to the right, she sighed. She had a feeling this was going to be a long meeting . . . no doubt Chekov would be upset if she fell asleep during his lengthy meetings . . .

--

Tifa fidgeted as she sat on the couch, her legs tucked underneath her, her chin resting in her palm as her wine coloured eyes stared intently at Vincent as he explained what Yuffie had told him, what she was hiding from the rest of them. She tried to wait patiently as he tried to find the right words to explain everything, her eyes going wide as she listened to him. She had to admit that Vincent was right, as he explained everything, her resolve started to waver – she wanted nothing more then to march off to Wutai and beat the crap out of Chekov _for_ Yuffie.

As Vincent's words came to a close, silence filling in the void, she couldn't help but blink, her words failing her.

She _knew_ something bad had happened . . . but **_that_** bad?

She knew that Yuffie had only agreed to this marriage with Chekov because of her father. Yuffie hadn't wanted it to end up this way – Tifa knew that Yuffie desired nothing more then to run Wutai on her own . . . that was _unless_ she could convince a certain gunslinger to stand with her. Chekov, it seemed, knew of Yuffie's desire; _well_, who didn't know that?

_Blackmail_ was what it came down to in Tifa's mind. She'd been cornered; her father was dying and wanted to speak to Yuffie before the end. Yuffie, who'd seen enough death, had agreed to whatever her father's unspoken wish was. Then, once she had agreed, she was whisked off, married to Chekov and had _simply_ been shuffled off to the side lines.

"If only she'd stayed here a little bit longer," she mumbled, glancing at the small coffee table between them. "All of this could have been avoided." She bit down on her lip, forcing down what she really wanted to say.

Vincent nodded, his crimson eyes staring at the martial artist. "Yes, it could have been avoided but Yuffie was intent on hurrying back to her country. You know as well as I do that once she gets something in her mind she'll see it through," he sighed, shaking his head. "I can see you want to say something, Tifa . . ."

"You always were about to see through everyone," she said, looking up from the coffee table. "But, _why_ Vincent? Why didn't you let Yuffie go with you when the Omega Incident was over? You _know_ that was what she wanted."

Vincent shook his head, breaking eye contact with Tifa. "There were some things that I needed to see to on my own without any interference. Yuffie knew that, I told her that."

Tifa narrowed her eyes. "All of this could have been avoided though!"

If Vincent had said yes to Yuffie, told her to wait at the Nibelheim Manor or wherever, it could have been avoided. Yuffie, in her anger, wouldn't have run off into the middle of the night, on a boat heading for what would turn into her worst nightmare. Yuffie wouldn't have seen her father dying – something she had seen enough of over the years – and wouldn't have blindly agreed to whatever her father had in mind.

She wouldn't have ended up with Chekov and everything wouldn't have ended up the way it did . . .

According to what Vincent heard from Yuffie, Chekov had acted normally at first. They made their appearances at Wutai hearings and proceedings and then, after a couple of months, everything started to change. Chekov started to distance himself from Yuffie stating that she was '_just a woman'_ anyway and that the real ruler of the throne was a male; any female on the throne was just a _figurehead_, regardless if they were the heir or not.

_It was the male's job to rule the country **not** a woman_, Chekov liked to be quoting as saying.

Soon enough, he started pushing Yuffie into having a child, stating that it was her job as a woman. Yuffie had bucked at that, fighting back against the tyrant _leader_, intently trying to prove that Chekov could not and would not control her. Vincent said he wasn't sure what had happened over the next little while, but through a turn of events, Chekov had won out over her. Vincent had shrugged, saying he had supposed that since Yuffie wouldn't do it willingly, he'd force himself of her then.

Accordingly, over a matter of months, Yuffie _had_ ended up pregnant. Chekov had been pleased with the news; the next Wutai heir would be a _Wanalei_not a Kisaragi. That being said, he had demanded it would be a boy and had quickly spread the news to the rest of the Wutai population – all of who were pleased that the next heir was _on the way_ – and Yuffie made the odd appearance. Yuffie had assumed Chekov liked the attention as once the novelty of her pregnancy had worn off; Chekov assigned a number of guards to Yuffie, wishing that she rested in peace, undisturbed.

Months later, when it was possible, tests had shown that Yuffie was carrying a girl, which threw a wrench into Chekov's master plans for _his_ heir. Yuffie didn't speak about what had happened, not wanting to relive the moments, but when it came time, her child was stillborn. Tifa had pieced it together herself, she assumed Chekov had probably gotten into a fight with her and had, in the end, won.

Her dear _Morganna_ – as Yuffie had named her – didn't get a chance to live, to grow up. That, Vincent had said, was the final straw, the turning point, in their _relationship_. Soon after that, Yuffie had text messaged Tifa and Vincent to help her – something Tifa remembered all to well, something that made shivers run down her spine.

They should have forced themselves into that Pagoda – she shouldn't have listened to Vincent, she should have beaten the crap out of Chekov and the _guards_ inside and dragged Yuffie from that red building. Everything would have been easier then, they wouldn't have been running around in the dark trying to solve everything blindfolded.

_How ironic life is_, Tifa thought idly before shaking her head.

"Regardless of what we _should_ have done, it's all in the past now," Tifa sighed, standing up from the couch with a stretch. "All we have to do now is head of to Wutai. Chekov's not going to play this fair, we _know_ that, Yuffie's going to need –"

"_Tifa_. . ." Vincent said warily, moving to stand up as well. "You said before that you would let Yuffie deal with this –"

Tifa paused, turning to glare at the gunslinger, eyes narrowed. "I _don't_ care, Vincent. I'm not putting Yuffie through it _again_. I am going to Wutai – and _no_, I don't care what I promised to you Vincent. Yuffie's going to get in over head, no matter what she has planned in her head," Tifa shook her head. "No, she probably doesn't have a plan, she rarely does. But, I'm going, tell the others I'll be back later." Nodding to herself, Tifa turned around on her heel, heading for the door. "Thanks though Vincent, for the story."

"Tifa wait," Vincent said after a moment's silence, a frown on his features. "You can't go to Wutai alone – you _know_ how they are. I'll be coming as well."

Tifa nodded, a smile appearing on her features as she slowly opened up his door. "Hurry up then, she's probably _already_ there somehow. I _don't_ want to miss all the action – Yuffie's got to go into this with even numbers. It's got to be a fair fight this time."

Vincent nodded to Tifa's rant as he opened the small closet in the hallway, retrieving his coat. Pulling it on, he nodded to Tifa, who grinned, pushing herself away from the wall. As Vincent left the room, closing and locking the door behind him, he heard the ding of the elevator as it arrived, the automatic doors opening for her. Motioning to him as she stepped into the elevator, she tapped her foot impatiently as Vincent made his way down the hallway and into the elevator before the doors closed soundlessly behind him as the elevator descended down, _down_ to the lobby.

--

Elena let out a sigh as she leaned back in the small boat, a frown on her features. Brushing her bangs out of her eyes with distain, she glanced down from the sky above them, looking at the others in the boat. Rude, like always, was looking straight ahead, his eyes no doubt roving around for any sort of trouble. If Wutai _was_ to learn of their presence, trouble wouldn't be far behind. She rolled her eyes as she looked over at Reno – who was behind Rude, leaning back in his chair, feet propped up on the opposite edge of the boat – he would _love_ to get into a fight. No surprise there.

She shook her head, pushing her sunglasses back up her nose. Moving along from Reno – he wasn't all that interesting – she stopped on Rufus, jumping slightly as she noticed his eyes piercing hers. She sighed, nodding to the powerful leader. "Do you think it was wise to leave her there?" As much as she wasn't a fan of the Kisaragi heir, it felt _odd_ dropping her off on the hated island – it felt like they were handing her over to the wolves. "Do you think we _should_ have stayed there . . .?"

Rufus shook his head, dismissing her comment. "You know well enough about Wutai traditions – they do not like outsiders delving into their problems. They solve it on _their_ own. I highly doubt they'd welcome the Turks and the President of ShinRa willingly into their land."

Elena's frown deepened at Rufus's words. "But still . . .! She . . . _someone_ should have gone. They wouldn't know that _I_ was a Turk –"

"That's stupid, Laney," Reno drawled from his lounging position, in the midst of lighting his cigarette. "You were there with us eight years ago at the Turtle Paradise . . . remember _Don Corneo_?"

Elena tensed at the name, cringing. "Don't you mention that Reno . . . that was . . . **_yuck_**!"

Reno smirked at her, finally managing to light his cigarette. "So you'd be recognized too – you haven't _exactly_ changed much."

Elena sighed, glancing up at her blonde bangs. She hated to say it, but Reno was _right_ – she had hardly changed at all. Her blonde hair still fell over her eyes, her hair resting against her shoulders. She still wore her Turk outfit, she felt comfortable in it – she just felt odd without the black and white suit. No one ever bothered her, or maybe it was because of the small gun at her waist, she wasn't really sure.

"See, I'm right," Reno drawled, glancing away from her. "You know you haven't changed."

"Fine, fine . . . whatever; but, I still don't see why we couldn't go as well."

"She didn't want any help," Rufus cut in, his voice sharp. He shook his head, holding up a hand to stop Elena's comments, her eyes harsh. "She contacted me late last night via text messaging. She knew what she had to do, she had to stop Chekov herself because, quiet frankly, he's _not_ going to stop until she's back in Wutai, bowing to his every command."

"Stupid ass," Elena hissed, ignoring Rufus's held up hand. "I'd beat the crap out of him."

"That's what Kisaragi is planning on doing. She wanted to get back to Wutai – but undercover. Chekov won't be expecting her to return home, he will expect her to keep running, hiding behind her friends. He obviously _doesn't_ know her very well, she is not one to run and hide. With that in mind, he will not be expecting her to strike; which will probably give her a small advantage – he won't want to fight this out fair. She will need all the advantage she can get as he will do whatever it takes to bring her down."

"Then we should have gone too!" Elena hissed, shooting up in her anger, forgetting their current position. "You make it sound like she'll _die_ –"

"It's a possibility."

Elena glared heatedly at the ShinRa President. "We should have gone too, undercover so she wouldn't have known we were there either."

Reno smirked at her. "Rookie."

Elena hissed, balling her hands up into fists. Whipping around quickly, she launched herself at Reno, the boat rocking at the sudden movements. Reno let out a curse as he dropped his cigarette moments before Elena connected solidly with him. Rufus, still sitting down, grabbed the side of the boat, intently trying not to fall into the cold waters below. Rude, merely glanced over his shoulder at the scuffle – Elena's fists flying while Reno swore at her, trying to shove her off – before returning his attention back to what was ahead of him, his dark eyes on the small cove a few hundred feet away.

"You jerk!" Elena yelled, pounding whatever piece of Reno she could find. "I'm _not_ a rookie," she said, punching him with each word. "After eight years, I'm just as good as you and Rude."

"Augh, get off me you crazy chick," he grumbled, pushing her roughly away from him.

"I _hate_ you," she retorted as he pushed her away, using her quick skills to grab hold of his blazer sleeve.

Reno grunted as Elena pulled on the edge of his sleeve, the boat rocking again at her sudden movements. Trying to balance herself, Elena suddenly remembered why she hated boats; especially boats that included Reno and _no _where to get away from him. Reno smirked, shaking his head as he watched her stumble slightly, trying to right herself. With a sigh – and clearly not thinking – he stood up, reaching out for her waist, attempting to right her. As he stood up, the boat rocked once more, making Elena screech and grab at Reno's other sleeve as her body went the other way . . .

_Splash_.

Rufus sighed, rolling his eyes as Rude stopped the boat suddenly. Moving slowly across the boat's width, Rufus stopped, glancing down. The water cold at this time of year, Elena and Reno tried to stay afloat, their teeth chattering too much for hurling insults at one another. "Rude," Rufus said, his voice flat. "Help me get them out, we have blankets at the cove for them."

The silent Turk nodded, swiftly pressing a couple buttons on the dashboard before him, leaving the small speedboat idling as he came to the President's side, trying his hardest to keep a straight face as his partner and Elena tried to shove each other slightly, intent on being the first back in the boat. As he grabbed Reno's collar, dragging the red haired Turk back into the boat, he could only hear the bickering that would start between the two once they reached the small cove.

--

Reeve sighed as he stopped outside the last door on the fourth floor. Closing his eyes momentarily, his mind going a mile a minute, he shook his head. Everything seemed to be going wrong lately. He _hated_ to say it; he thought that the eager, brunette boy had the drive to pursue this path, but if his thoughts were true . . . he wondered what had happened to make him change his personality so much.

He _knew_ it was all connected, and he was afraid that he had figured out that link.

Shelke fell unconscious and Denzel reappeared within the day, new friends at his side.

A couple weeks go by and Denzel, Marlene _and_ Yuffie all disappear within a couple hours of each other.

He highly doubted that that was a coincidence.

As his mind churned again with unanswerable questions, he shook his head, hoping to ward it off with no luck. Glancing at the door in front of him, he moved his eyes to the small keypad at the side of the door. Outstretching a hand, his fingers quickly flew over the small pad, and with a ding from the keypad, the automatic door whirled open for him. With a sigh, he moved through the doorway, the door closing behind him as the second door opened before him.

Moving through the second door, it felt like déjà vu to him.

The incident was so similar to what had happened three years previous, the only difference being the younger sibling now. He frowned as he heard the automatic door whirl shut behind him. Shaking his head, he made his way across the almost empty room, dropping heavily into the lone chair beside the stark white bed. Running a hand over his face, he cast his brown eyes at the lone occupant in the bed.

Shelke lay in the bed, the sheets pulled up to her chin, her eyes closed. He watched the covers rise and fall as she breathed, her eyelids fluttering once and a while, her fingers twitching at the same time.

As he looked at her, he couldn't help but reach out a hand, resting it on her forehead. Moving the chair closer to the bed, he let out a sigh as he glanced intently at the girl in front of him. With a sigh, he ran his hand down her short hair, before returning his hand to his lap, intertwining it with his other hand.

"Everything has gone wrong, Shelke," he muttered, glancing down at her. "What were you doing in there? What were you up too . . . _why_ do you have to do everything on your own?"

That was one thing he never seemed to understand about the ex-Tsviet; even after all these years, she still desired to do everything on her own. He shook his head, it had _all_ finally caught up to her, she had _finally_ managed to get herself into something – something no one else knew what it was.

"Everything is starting to fall apart. Wutai has fallen quiet still lately; none of our agents have located their presence at all in Gaea. We think that they might have retreated back to Wutai, but we have no idea _why_ they would do that. We are starting to believe that they might know exactly what we're up to, that Yuffie is here in the WRO; but if that is the case – why haven't they came here headfirst? Wouldn't they demand the rightful ruler of Wutai back under their possession? We could really use you right now Shelke, you would be able to see through what is going on – or at least crack Yuffie; she doesn't speak about what happens in Wutai . . ."

Reeve sighed, the pieces coming together as he spoke. Even unconscious, Shelke seemed to be able to work out his muddled thoughts, setting things straight, like always. "It's _Denzel_ . . ." he muttered, the final pieces clicking together, Marlene's words from the day before sinking in. "And Marlene went _after_ him . . . she knew what was going on. While Yuffie . . . she . . ." he shook his head, Yuffie's motives were, like always, unclear. But, he had a feeling – "They're _all_ heading to Wutai . . ."

Denzel, Marlene _and_ Yuffie all headed off to Wutai . . .

"Shelke," he said, drawing his attention back to the sleeping brunette. "You always did know how to see through everything, and I think I know where this is heading . . ." he suppressed a groan, not wanting to _think_ about Barret and Vincent's response when they found out where the two girls had disappeared too.

"Come back to us soon, Shelke." He said, running a hand down Shelke's face, stopping at her cheek. "We – I need you more then you could imagine, hurry back here, okay?"

What he failed to see though as he dropped his arm to his side, turning his back on the brunette; the brunette's fingers twitched a handful of times, her eyelids twitching, her face twisting up slightly before a slight moan escaped her lips, turning about in her bed, the sheets twisting around her.

--

Marlene fidgeted in her room, bored. She sighed, flopping back down on her bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to find pictures in the tiles above. _Maybe_ she shouldn't have made her way to Wutai this soon . . . maybe she should have done some shopping over in Kalm or headed over to Costa del Sol and then catch the boat to the oriental country. She shook her head at the thought, she couldn't have gone to Costa del Sol – she didn't want to see Elmyra, it would be hard to get away from the motherly widow.

So, she really had no choice but to come to come to Wutai and sit in the hotel room staring at the ceiling until nightfall . . . how _fun_.

Groaning, Marlene rolled over slightly, glancing at the light up clock. She squinted her eyes as the sun shone brightly through the window. ". . . Four thirty . . ." she grumbled, rolling her eyes as she moved to sit up.

Slowly, she made her way across the small room, stopping at the window. Fumbling with the small locks on the window, she let out a triumphant _'hah'_ as she pushed the window open, hoping to entice a breeze into the room. She was glad that it wasn't half as cold in Wutai as it was in Junon, a plus side of living closer to the equator, she supposed. It felt like late September, cold, but not to warm either.

It was her _favourite_ time of year

Marlene grumbled as she placed her chin in her palms, staring out the window. Yuffie _was_ right, Wutai wasn't very exciting. She frowned as she thought; her mind a mile away. Perhaps she _should_ go over there now . . . scope it out, see what it looked like. She _was_ a tourist after all, right? She nodded at the thought, smiling slightly.

_Yes, that might be better_, she thought, grinning wildly. _Tifa__ and Yuffie always said it was better to know your surroundings before you actually went in incognito, less chance of getting caught and all that_.

Marlene shrugged, pushing herself away from the window, she might as well. Like she _wanted_ to get caught, that would just make things worse. She didn't _want_ to drag Yuffie into this – she just wanted to know what Denzel was doing here! For once, she didn't want to be the burden of the WRO, they never let her do anything.

"Let's go, it's bound to be more fun anyway," Marlene shrugged, winding the window in half way before turning to the clothes strewn across her bed.

Grabbing the blue plaid sweater she threw it over her shoulders, zipping it up. Taking a quick glance at herself in the mirror, she nodded as she grabbed her small messenger bag and camera that hung on the back of her chair. Crossing the room again, she opened her bedroom door, quickly closing and locking it up behind her. Humming to herself, trying to act like a mindless teenager on a meeting with her father, she quietly descended the stairwell, bounding into the small reception area, heading for the doors.

"Hello again Miss. Manchester, going out are you?"

It took Marlene a couple seconds to realize that the receptionist was talking to her. She shook her head, mentally cursing herself for forgetting her _code name_ – she _had_ chosen it herself when Shelke was making up fake IDs; there were a couple places that the members of the WRO weren't welcome; mainly Wutai. That and it made things a bit easier.

"Yes, my dad phoned me on my cell phone . . . he found something really neat up on the mountains, he wants me to come have a look. The sunset must be really nice up there."

The receptionist nodded. "Why yes, it is one of our many wonders," the receptionist jumped as the phone beside her rang. "Oh, please excuse me – have a nice day Miss. Manchester."

Marlene nodded, glad that the phone had rung, calling the attention of the receptionist. Trying to walk at a normal pace, Marlene couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as she reached the door, pushing it open. As the door closed behind her, she pulled her sunglasses out of her pants pockets, slipping them onto her nose. Shoving her hands in her pockets, her camera swinging on her arm, she headed off in the direction of the trees, glancing at the red Pagoda from behind her sunglasses. As she felt the trees close around her, the small hotel eventually hidden behind the green trees, she broke out into a run.

"This is so . . . _cool_," she huffed, feeling out of shape. "I can see why they enjoy this so much." She felt her heart pumping heavily against her chest, slowing herself down to a walk as she reached the end of the path between the trees, trying to regulate her breathing. To her, it sounded like she had just run a marathon.

Fumbling with her camera, turning the device on as she came to the end of the trees, the red Pagoda loomed above her, an oriental archway leading into the open clearing. Hearing the slight hum of the camera, she held it between her two hands as she ascended the couple stairs, passing the archway moments later. Humming to herself, she brought the camera up to her eyes, trying to focus it on the massive red buildings before her.

Before she pressed her finger down, to snap the photo forever, she paused as she caught something through the lens. Her breath catching, she zoomed in with the camera, her smile freezing momentarily before turning into a frown, her face hardening at what she saw behind the large Pagoda. Almost out of sight at this angle, she saw a hulking metal form, a similar coloured ramp before it, people milling around the machine. Once she had zoomed on the machine on it's own, it didn't take her king to realize that there were people there.

What was worse – it was people she knew.

The traditional Royal Guards stood at the bottom of the small ramp, welcoming whoever was coming. Obviously this _someone _was expected. And, as they made their appearance, she felt her heart stop and drop into the pit of her stomach. His hair tousled, a frown marring his features as he descended the ramp, waving away the Guard waiting for him. It wasn't long before Bridget appeared as well, making Marlene frown as they were surrounded by the Royal Guards as they made their towards the Pagoda.

"Traitor," Marlene hissed, snapping the photo in anger. She wasn't sure if it would come out or not, she didn't really care either. "Wait till I get my hands on you . . ."

_Denzel, Bridget, Liam _. . . she knew she was right in not trusting them – but it still hurt to know that Denzel was in on all of this. He was supposed to be one of them, on the same side.

Obviously, she had been wrong.

Intent on what was before her, her mind whirling a mile a minute with accusations, she didn't hear the rustle of the leaves behind her. Her camera up to her eye, focusing it to get a range of photos to take back to Junon, she didn't know there was anyone behind her until she felt a hand drop heavily onto her shoulder. With a gasp, she dropped the camera, leaving it swinging on her wrist as she whirled around, trying to use her free hand to free herself from the grasp.

She inwardly grumbled, she _should_ have taken Tifa up on her offer to learn martial arts. She screwed up her face, using all her concentration to decide how to get away. She shrugged as the man approached her, kicking him hard in the shins. That usually worked in the movies, _right_?

"Damn it," she cursed under her breath as it did nothing against the well dressed man, who with remarkable speed, managed to twist her around, her arm twisted roughly behind her back. "You cannot do this – I am a _tourist_! I demand the right respect."

The man snorted from behind her, twisting her arm again. Marlene bit down on her lip, intent on not showing the man the pain she felt with each twist as he pushed her forward, towards the looming Pagoda. "Tourists would get the right respect, but you are _not_ a tourist, are you . . . _Marlene Wallace of the WRO_? You have snuck into our country, kidnapped Lady Kisaragi, tried to worm your way into the Pagoda to cause harm to our Lord and know more then you quiet aught to know."

Marlene sucked in a breath, indignant. "You cannot do anything to me. The WRO know where I am, they will beat down your door to retrieve me – they do not take well to a hostage situation such as this – especially one who is on _vacation_ such as me."

The guard shook his head as he and Marlene were thrust beneath the Pagoda's shadow, moving her forward. Marlene dug her heels into the ground beneath her – this _wasn't_ turning out the way she wanted it too.

Why? Why did she come here??

She let out a slight muffle as they reached the bottom of the Pagoda, a handful of steps leading up to the massive red building. "Get going," he said lowly into her ear, his tone dead. "You wouldn't want to make this difficult to you? I suppose the WRO – especially a Barret Wallace – would want you back in whole, now would they? I suggest you do as we say."

Marlene kicked out against him, grumbling to herself as she missed. She hated to say that he had probably expected she would do that again. She wanted to laugh at her own stupidity – how stupid was she to come here alone and having _no one_ know where she ran off to? She also hated her stupid position – with her arm twisted painfully behind her, she felt that there was _nothing_ she could do as she stumbled up the Pagoda steps.

What she wouldn't give to have some of Tifa's lessons right now . . .

She cursed herself, she should have listened to Tifa more often. She grumbled as the man shoved her forward again, forcing her up a couple more steps. From behind her, he nodded to the guards on either side of the door – Marlene glared at the two of them, she didn't like this one bit – moved to open the doors, the heavy, ornate doors creaking open. In silence, the man forced Marlene into the large Pagoda, the teenager suppressing a shudder as the heavy doors closed behind them.

"My Lord," the man said, as the two of them came to a stop in the middle of the room. "We have a _slight_ situation. In addition to our problem on the north coast, it seems we had a WRO agent poking around the Pagoda with a camera in hand."

Marlene blinked, trying to keep her face blank as his voice echoed through the large room. She was _way_ in over her head. Breathing deep, she tried to remain her composure – she remembered Tifa telling her to always keep a calm head and analysis everything to turn it into your favour. She nodded in her head, she could do that.

"I see, that is a coincidence," came another voice from the side of the room, a paper thin screen sliding back. Marlene's eyes narrowed as she glanced to the side, trying to keep her face composed as she glanced at the looming man who stayed in the reaches of the shadows. "She must have sent for someone for help . . . but this could work to our advantage. Please escort our guest into the last room on the left – let her have some time to catch up with her old friends."

_Old Friends_? Marlene thought, ignoring the man as he tugged on her arm, pulling her towards the door on the opposite side of the Pagoda. _Denzel . . ._ her mind hissed at her, her eyes narrowing.

Oh yeah, she would _love_ to meet up with Denzel and his friends again . . . she had a lot of things she wanted to say (read: yell) at them.

Chekov sighed, stepping out of the shadows as the door slid shut behind Marlene and her guard. Snapping his fingers together, another guard followed him out of the shadows, following behind Chekov. Once in the middle of the room, Chekov stopped suddenly, turning around to face the guard, who stumbled slightly. "We know no for certain that Yuffie is hiding within the WRO headquarters and we will be able to draw her out with our little friend there. Until then, you and three of your best men are to head off to the North Coast and find out who is trying to sneak into our country. When you find them, you are to do _everything_ you can to get rid of them. Understood?"

The man nodded, saluting to the looming man. "Yes, my Lord. We will head there this instant and destroy whoever thinks to take us by surprise."

Chekov nodded, his smile turning into a smirk as the Royal Guards' General left the Pagoda, three of his men following after him. Turning on his heel, he made to move towards the back of the room, a plan forming in his mind.

He had Marlene Wallace here in the Pagoda, something the WRO would detest and attempt to have her back. If figured he would be able to turn it into a war – one that would seem the WRO had started. They were _no_ different then ShinRa was. Whoever was on the North Coast was the backup Miss. Wallace had called for and would soon be destroyed by his unsuspecting force.

This was turning out better then he had originally thought – instead of drawing them in, they were coming of their own accord.

It seemed the cards had been thrown down in his favour – this was better then he had originally thought.

"It won't be long now, Yuffie," he muttered, stepping into the shadows. "You'll soon be begging me to release your little friends . . . the time is finally coming _my dear_."

--

A/N:

Yes, so we're coming down to the wire. About two more chapters I think.

This was the most _all over_ chapter ever.

I originally had a bit of Yuffie in there, but I cut and pasted it into the next chapter.

This, I found, was the hardest chapter to write, especially Tifa and Vincent's part, it was actually the last part written. The Turks piece was the first part written.

And, without further ado; the tentative soundtrack listing –

(In no order yet)

Innocence: Avril Lavigne  
Love is a Lie: Simple Plan  
One Step: Jordin Sparks  
Perfect Enemy: Tatu  
Hard to find: Secondhand Serenade  
Dejame Gritar: Kudai ("Let me Scream" Italian)  
See You Again: Miley Cyrus  
Get Back:Demi Lovato  
Face Down: The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus  
Stronger: Kanye West  
4ever: The Veronica's  
In Peices: Linkin Park  
Concrete Angel:  
Check Yes Juilet: We the Kings  
Drive My Soul: Lights  
It Ends Tonight: All American Rejects  
Try: Nelly Furtado  
No More Drama: Mary J Blige  
This is a Call: Thousand Foot Krutch  
Pieces: Sum 41  
Does Anyone Hear Her: Casting Crows  
It's not my Time: Three Doors Down  
Bring Me To Life: Evanescence  
If I Never See Your Face Again: Maroon 5 & Rihanna  
Carry you home: James Blunt  
Zombie: The Cranberries


	20. 20: Perfect Enemy

_Na-na-now ta-that don't kill me  
Can only make me stronger  
I need you to hurry up now  
'Cause I can't wait much longer  
I know I got to be right now  
'cause I can't get much wronger  
Man I've been waitin' all night now_

_Stronger ~ Kanye West_

Yuffie took a deep breath, closing her eyes momentarily. She _couldn't_ believe that she was actually back on Wutai soil. She shook her head, sighing as she heard the boat start back up behind her, leaving her alone on the island. Before she could stop herself, she glanced over her shoulder, her storm grey eyes finding the small, if a bit noisy; craft disappeared into the glinting ocean.

She shook her head; she _didn't_ think that Rufus would actually help her out – or _any_ of them for that matter.

She'd have to remember to thank them for all this later. As she turned on her heel, she vaguely wondered where they were heading anyway . . . Rufus _had_ said they would be around here somewhere. She shrugged it off, wanting to get it out of her mind – she had bigger things to worry about then the Turks hideout.

"Just you wait, _dear_," she muttered to herself as she shouldered her tiny pack. "This is _the end_."

Smirking to herself, she cast her eyes upward, locking them on the top of the Pagoda which was hardly visible behind the looming trees. Nodding to herself, she moved her eyes to the forest that stood between her and the Pagoda, she was almost one hundred percent sure that there wouldn't be anyone in the forest.

She was _hardly_ expected.

Chekov didn't know her as well as he thought . . . he _honestly_ thought she would hide behind her friends.

"What a fool," she mumbled to herself, rolling her eyes as she started towards the tree line.

The wind was still, the trees hardly rustling before her. She could hear the odd bird sing from somewhere in the green depth and it made her smile slightly. It had been a while since she heard the forest; Junon didn't exactly have room for greenery. Without any wind to carry far off sounds, Yuffie was almost to the tree line when she heard a familiar sound. Was it . . . _whirling_?

_Wait, whirling_? Yuffie thought to herself, freezing mid step.

Eyes narrowed, she quickly whipped around to look behind her. She frowned momentarily as she didn't see anything on the ground or on the visible water as the whirling sound came quicker, sharper. Backing up, she glanced up towards the sky, spinning around on her heel as she noticed the descending helicopter. Inwardly, she cursed herself as she made it to the tree line, glancing up at the silver monstrosity as it lowered onto the Island.

Eyes narrowed, she raised her eyebrows as she watched the helicopter.

Her breath caught as she noticed the design on the side of the helicopter. It was the WRO symbol.

"But _who_ . . .?" No one knew she was even here – they _wouldn't_ even expect she'd return here.

Her mind went blank as the helicopter flew overhead, the whirling of the blades drowning out all other sounds. Yuffie let out a breath she didn't know she was holding as it went overhead. As the metal contraption flew over her head, Yuffie found that everything else just disappeared from her mind.

She didn't care that she was back on Wutai soil.

She didn't care that on the other side of the forest was the Pagoda and _him_.

She was curious about what was going on with that helicopter.

_Who _was in there and _what_ were they up to?

With that thought in mind, Yuffie shouldered her backpack, shifting it multiple times on her back before she took off through the forest. She grinned to herself as she moved through the forest; it was like a second home to her. How many times had she run away into the forest when she was angry at her dad and just wanted to vent?

_Too many times to count,_ she thought, as she weaved around the closely grown trees.

She knew that the helicopter was flying to the grounds near the Pagoda – why else would they have come from that angle? She had a feeling that it wasn't the WRO; that it was something else – her intuition was hardly ever wrong.

"What are you planning Chekov?" she muttered, her mind moving as fast as her legs were.

How would he have gotten hold of a WRO helicopter? It wasn't something they gave out to everyone. She _knew_ that he wouldn't have managed to steal one from headquarters, so – she hated to say this – there was a traitor in their midst.

As her features turned into a frown, twisting up in anger at the thought, she skidded to a stop as she weaved through the last patch of closely grown trees, a ring of shrubs lining the forest line. Crouching low behind the shrubs, Yuffie relieved herself of herself of her backpack, her eyes roving the open space before her.

She could hear the helicopter approaching, deafening her once again as its pattern changed for the descent, bracing for impact with the tough ground. With her quick eyesight she saw the hidden side door of the Pagoda open, a couple people filling out. Yuffie sucked in a breath as she noticed their red outfits, a Shuriken at their back with a hidden pistol at their waist.

_The Royal Guard_, she thought bitterly.

She hated them almost as much as she did Chekov. She watched with narrow eyes as they crossed the ground, raising their arms in hope to ward off the intense whirlwind of air. As the helicopter touched down on the ground, the helicopter's blades slowing down, she could catch a portion of their conversation as the words drifted on the wind to her.

"It's about _time_ they returned . . ."

"The Lord is pleased . . ."

"Kisaragi heir . . ."

Yuffie's eyes narrowed as she was mentioned. She bit down on her lip, resisting the urge to creep forward, to hear what they were saying. But, she knew if she got any closer, she'd have a better shot at getting caught. And for what she had in mind – she didn't want _anyone_ spotting her. Her thoughts detouring down what she had in mind for Chekov, she shook her head as she heard the helicopter's door open. Narrowing her eyes, she glanced intently at the open door, waiting for _whoever_ was there . . .

Her breath caught as she saw them.

She couldn't help but be surprised – which quickly turned into anger.

Standing at the top of the ramp, were two figures, one more recognizable then the other.

Yuffie grounded her fist into her palm, resisting the urge to go charging into the clearing, her Shuriken drawn as she watched Denzel and Bridget descend, joining up with the Royal Guard members at the bottom of the ramp. She watched with angry eyes, her words stopping at her lips, as they crossed the clearing and disappearing into the hidden door at the side of the building.

Once they were out of sight, Yuffie let out a hiss, turning her back on the looming Pagoda.

If only she had looked to the left of the Pagoda – she would have seen another break away from the forest line, intent on the looming building overhead.

With her back to the Pagoda, Yuffie moved from a kneeling position to a sitting position as she slowly and quietly unzipped her large bag. Quickly, she rifled through her bag, pulling out a small fanny-pack-esque bag, buckling it together around her waist, a medium sized pouch hanging off the belt around her waist. Nodding to herself, a smile appearing on her features as she picked out a couple other things she would need for the upcoming fight. If the Royal Guards were hiding pistols on their person now, she would need all the tricks she could get.

Her mind whirling a mile a minute with different plans, Yuffie let out a small laugh as she pulled out her Shuriken. Her grin turned into a smirk as she pulled the weapon from her backpack. She glanced intently at the weapon she hadn't seen in a long time, squinting as the sunlight glinted against the metal edges. As she placed the weapon down beside her, she couldn't help but feel that she had a part of herself back again. With quick movements, Yuffie zipped the bag back up before kicking it underneath the shrubs, out of sight. Grabbing the Shuriken again, moving it around with ease, Yuffie stretched as she stood up, glad to moving again, her plan all but formed now.

Sure it was _no_ Conformer, but it would do the trick.

A Shuriken was better then nothing.

_Finally_, she thought as she held the lightweight weapon in her hand, experimentally turning the weapon around in her hand.

She let out a sigh of relief as she reached back, strapping the weapon onto her back. It felt like she was complete again as she felt the cool metal against her back, slightly weighing her down. Stretching as she moved to stand up, she couldn't get the grin off her face. She twirled around expectantly, feeling complete once again. Her eyes roved around her surroundings, taking in what was around her.

She could feel a slight rustle of the wind – as if Wutai knew what was coming. _Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn_, she thought bitterly as it rustled her hair. She smirked at the thought, reaching back for the Shuriken. She nodded to herself as she felt the cool metal – it had been so long since she had felt it against her body.

"And to think I thought I wouldn't remember everything correctly," she scoffed at herself; she was a ninja – these were _supposed_ to be skills for life. "Now, to see if I _remember_ how to wield this . . ." she sneered as she dropped her hand to her side.

Feh . . . and Chekov believed that she would _forget_ all her ninja skills over an extended period of time. As if she would be able to _forget_ everything that had happened from all her time with AVALANCE and the WRO. It was a part of her.

And now it was time for her triumphant return.

Squaring her shoulders and her chin held high, Yuffie clenched her fingers into a fist, taking a deep breath. Slowly, she moved towards the tree line, her storm grey eyes intent on the looming building. As she emerged from the trees, Yuffie hunched over, making herself smaller as she made a break for the red building. Just because she was finally going to face off against Chekov – she didn't plan on letting him get _any_ advantages over her.

It was going to be her rules, her terms.

It was going to _**end**_ once and for all.

_You don't turn me off  
I will never fail  
Things I loved before,  
Are not for sale_

_Keep yourself away  
Far away from me  
I forever stay  
Your perfect enemy_

_Perfect Enemy ~ Tatu_

Yuffie let out a deep breath, forcing down the urge to shudder as she leaned against the shadowed side of the Pagoda, the cool metal of her Shuriken pressed tightly against her back. Closing her eyes momentarily, she sighed. It was _now_ or _never_.

"You'll wish you never did any of this . . ." she mumbled, trying to keep her cool.

She _knew_ she could do this – because she _knew_ she was going to be returning to Junon and her friends when this was all over. Nodding to herself, Yuffie pushed herself away from the wall. She wanted to get this over with – she had officially had enough of putting things off and being pushed around. She knew she didn't have a large window of time as she raced, hunched over, across the open clearing. When she had been rooting through her backpack, she had seen a handful of the Royal Guards leave through the front door, and splitting into two groups, one set disappeared down the winding path leading into town, while the second group disappeared around the side of the building, followed by a loud and hurried rustle of trees and shrubs.

Something had happened . . . Chekov had been tipped off somehow.

But _how_ . . .?

That was what she wanted to know about all else. She was a hundred percent sure that Denzel was behind all of this – but _no_ one knew that she was coming back to Wutai. It was well known throughout the WRO that she didn't _want _to return to the oriental land.

She shook her head, dispelling the thought. Creeping towards the edge of the Pagoda, she slowly peered around the edge. She let out her breath as she noticed the coast was clear. The Pagoda's grounds were empty; the usual guards stationed at the bottom of the stairs were missing. She frowned at that, but chocked it down to that they had either gone on the _hunt of sorts_ or were inside the Pagoda.

Well, whatever. She would take down anyone who stood between herself and Chekov.

She wanted to get on with this already. And, as Yuffie crept around the side of the Pagoda, she reached back for her Shuriken, drawing it out, ready at her side. She was not going to be taken off guard that was going to be _her_ job.

Chekov had it coming – and before the sun set, Wutai would have a new ruler . . .

Her storm grey eyes roved the open grounds, looking for an sign of the Royal Guards returning. Quickly, Yuffie moved towards the stairwell, she tried to keep to the shadows the awnings created. She made a note to herself, that the awning's weren't as bad and as _old schooled_ as she thought they originally were. She allowed a small smirk to grace her features as she reached the stairwell leading into the looming building. Reaching forward, she grabbed the railing, vaulting her tiny frame over it – she didn't want to take any chances of being seen if she left the awnings shelter.

It felt good to have the well used red stairs below her feet – it felt _childhood_.

Yuffie frowned as the memories came back to her. She didn't have _time_ for memory lane, she had to be focused.

Eyes looked warily around her as she ascended the staircase, stopping on the wooden slab in front of the ornate door. Fixing her features into a blank look, Yuffie placed a hand on the door, and with a small grunt, pushed the heavy doors open. The doors creaked loudly in the silence, making Yuffie flinch. Shaking it off, Yuffie slipped in through the doors, easing the door shut behind her again.

Letting her eyes adjust to the dim lit room, Yuffie tightened her grip on the Shuriken in her hand. She _knew_ that Chekov wouldn't be waiting for her here . . . _he_ wasn't that easy, but she would not be distracted this time. As her eyes started to adjust, she glanced around the large, empty room. A frown appeared on her features – she had _slightly_ wished he would have been here; this room could have some advantages for a fight.

But, life usually didn't go the way she wanted it too.

Narrowing her eyes, she looked intently at the shadows – she knew Chekov all to well. Her back pressed up against the wall, Shuriken in her hand, she eventually nodded to herself. Chekov wasn't waiting, hidden in the large foyer. Calculating where he might be in the five storied building, she pushed herself away from the wall, hunched over slightly at her waist as she raced across the polished floor to the stairwell on the other side of the room.

Keeping her steps quiet, Yuffie made her way up the stairwell, stopping on the landing of the second floor. Slowly, she crept towards the doorway, holding her breath as she peeked her head around the corner. Trying to keep herself in the shadows, Yuffie let out a breath as she craned her head around, frowning when she noticed Chekov wasn't in the room.

When Yuffie got to the fourth floor and noticed that Chekov wasn't in the room, she gritted her teeth together. He was _hiding_ from her . . . trying to make her come to him. Unwillingly, she glanced upwards to the ceiling, the fifth floor overhead. She rolled her eyes, balling her hands up into fists – he was _trying_ to make her come to where he was. She cringed at the thought, but shrugged it off. He wasn't going to beat her . . . she still had a couple tricks up her sleeves.

"Just you wait . . ." she knew Chekov too well. He wouldn't surprise her, take her off guard. "I'm _not_ some pushover anymore." She mumbled with force as she crossed the room, keeping her back to the wall as she moved towards the last stairwell.

Reaching them, Yuffie took a deep breath as she looked up. Her storm grey eyes narrowed as she looked up the twenty-something stairs, a frown appearing on her face. Taking one last look around the fourth floor, Yuffie grasped her Shuriken tightly as she started up the stairs. Yuffie held her breath as she slowly crept up the stairwell, hoping that the wooden boards underfoot wouldn't start to creak.

As she neared the top, Yuffie let out a breath in a gush, her heart hammering in her chest. Pressing her back against the wall on the top landing, she held her Shuriken aloof, eyes narrowed and ears straining for any sound. As she listened, she frowned as no sound graced her ears.

Chekov _had_ to be here . . . he wouldn't just _leave_ Wutai unguarded, right?

Keeping her back pressed against the red wood, Yuffie shifted across the wall, trying to distribute her weight. Reaching the end of the short wall, Yuffie paused, slowly maneuvering to glance around the corner. As she peered around the corner, her breath came out in a rush at the scene before her. Keeping her face blank, she clenched her Shuriken tighter as she moved around the corner, presenting herself to the large room.

In the middle of the room sat a large table.

On the other side of the table, his back to the wall length window, sat Chekov.

Yuffie stopped in the doorway, her body refusing to move forward.

Although she was trying to keep her face blank; she was having a hard time trying not to narrow her eyes and turn her lips up in a smirk.

"Don't stand in the doorway; you'll just get in the way there."

Yuffie narrowed her eyes then, smirking at the seated man. "You can't tell me what to do."

Calmly, Chekov raised an eyebrow at her words. "Then, stand – you'll be complaining in a couple hours anyway." Yuffie rolled her eyes, as she crossed her arms over her chest, moving to lean against the archway. Chekov sighed, placing his chin in his palm. "I see you managed to escape your captors without being hurt."

Yuffie suppressed a groan. "I'm sure you're well aware that I was _not_ captured – I am not one to bow down, _**dear**_."

"Merely the benefit of a doubt," he said; his tone icy. "You never –"

Yuffie waved his comment aside. "Yes, yes, according to you I never pay attention to what is around me, it's nothing different from what my father liked to say. Besides, would you _hardly_ think that a member of AVALANCE and WRO would be _kidnapped_ so easy . . ." she raised an eyebrow to get her point across.

Chekov didn't bat an eye at her words. "You went of your own free will, everyone here in the Pagoda knows."

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "You did a good job at telling the rest of Wutai – if I _remember_, I'm pregnant and can't leave the Pagoda and Tifa and Vincent _kidnapped_ me – which they wouldn't have to go that far," she added as an afterthought. "You had no right telling Emi Saffron – of _all_ people – who in turn, told all of Gaea. You must know hers in the most watched news station."

Chekov shrugged, making Yuffie frown. He was a good actor, but _not_ as good as Vincent, she could easily see through his false words. "It would be the quickest way to assure your return –"

"Which I wasn't planning on doing –"

"You were doing so well without their influence, you were becoming more of the Princess you were meant to be –"

Yuffie broke out laughing, her high laugh echoing through the large, practically empty room. "_The Princess I was meant to be_ – right, sure, whatever you say. That's why my father sent me to the mainland at fifteen, you know, you learn a lot about being a Princess when you're hacking it in a forest," she said idly, her voice dull. "I learned a lot you can't learn on the throne . . ."

"However," Chekov said; his voice low as he pushed his chair back, moving to stand up. "You didn't learn to hold your tongue like a proper woman does."

Yuffie snorted, placing one hand on her hip, her other hand gripping her Shuriken tighter in response, the cool metal glinting in the light. Chekov's eyes flickered momentarily to the weapon she held, before glancing back up at the frowning woman. "I hardly need your approval, you know," she said idly, her tone bored, a glint in her eyes. "If I remember correctly, I'm still the heir to the throne – you _can't_ have it without me."

"You're father chose your suitor and you agreed to it, _dear_," Chekov commented idly, straining to keep his voice level. "This is our reality, you are mine and as your husband, you will do as I say."

Yuffie closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to remain calm. She _wasn't_ going to rise to his bait; she knew Chekov all to well. "_And_ you should know me well either, I do not have to do what you tell me too. You may rule Wutai, but you will not rule me. I have been on my own forever, my father never cared what I did – so _why_ should it matter to you? I may have done what you said because my father played on my guilt – but I will not bow down to you, you will not boss me around anymore."

Chekov didn't respond for a while, his dark eyes boring intensely on Yuffie. Yuffie fidgeted slightly under his intense stare, staring hauntingly back at the man. Chekov smirked as she fidgeted, drawing himself up to his full height, moving around the table, eyes boring into Yuffie's. Her eyes narrowed as she watched him, her free hand moving to the pouch of her belt.

Chekov noticed the movement, pausing halfway around the table. "You wouldn't want to do that Yuffie . . . there are some things you don't want to lose."

"Uh huh," Yuffie said skeptically, hand on the pouch. "There is _nothing _you can use to hold me down – no one is here."

"If you believe that, you might want to look at this," With his ever present smirk on his face, Chekov reached into his pocket, pulling out something tiny. Yuffie raised an eyebrow; her curiosity _slightly_ peaked, as he pulled it out, tossing it in her direction. "You want to be very careful, _Princess_."

Yuffie's breath caught as the sunlight glinted off the small object as she reached a hand out for item. As her fingers enclosed the small piece, Yuffie's eyes narrowed as she crushed it in her hand. "How did you _find_ her, why did you take Marlene?!"

Chekov watched passively as Yuffie shook, her words muddled by her anger. "I did nothing of the sort, she came here of her own free will . . . _tracking_ one my my agents."

_Agent_? Yuffie thought, but shook it off. "You _bastard_!" she yelled, moving quickly. Shifting into a crouch, Yuffie slipped her hand into the pouch on her side, her lips turning into a smirk when she felt the cool metal inside. In the blink of an eye, Yuffie had pulled her hand out and back, throwing a small kunai in Chekov's direction. "Leave the _kid_ alone!"

Chekov caught the kunai between his fingers, used to Yuffie's antics. "You haven't changed, irrational as ever," he sighed, shaking his head as he started moving around the table again. "You must be _better_ then that, dear."

"Shut up, get out of my head!" Yuffie yelled, eyes narrowed as she raised her Shuriken. "I won't let you beat me."

Still in her crouch, Yuffie raised her arm and let her Shuriken fly. Chekov watched Yuffie with blank, calculating eyes as she moved. He had grown up with the wild girl, there were no tricks he had seen her learn as a child or seen on the television. As he watched her raise the hand holding her Shuriken, he watched guardedly as she let it fly, nimbly moving out of the weapon's way.

"Really, Yuffie," he said, his tone low. "With your status you shouldn't solve your problems with anger."

Yuffie shrugged, catching her Shuriken with little effort. "If you didn't resort to hostages, _dear_, I wouldn't have –"

"And you should think about that, Princess. A hostage, your friend is here in the Pagoda, watching what is going on this instant; do you want her life to be jeopardy?"

Yuffie paused, mid action. Marlene . . . how could she forget about her? She knew how Chekov worked, he would want everything in his favour; he would try to stack the cards his way. Glancing away from him to the floor below, she took a deep breath as she watched his feet approach, trying not to cringe away from his approach. Focusing on the situation at hand, Yuffie frowned, trying to figure this out before he managed to cross the length of the table.

Marlene was here. Chekov said she was _nearby_.

That was a change in personality; Chekov would have wanted the _hostage_ far away.

They could get loose, beat their captors – Marlene _had_ grown up with AVALANCE, she would have to have to know a couple things.

Chekov would figure that out, he calculated every angle.

Marlene wouldn't be in the room. She'd be _in_ the building but _not_ in the room or the balcony room above.

Without a doubt, she was on one of the floors below – she'd walked right past Marlene.

Chekov was bluffing – he was good at that.

Her downward glance and falling hair hid her smirk as she figured it out.

Chekov was bluffing, Marlene was not in the immediate vicinity and she _**would**_ defeat him.

She had done it once before, she could do it again.

"Marlene _isn't_ here." She said confidently, her tone smug.

At first look it didn't seem as though he reacted to her words, but as Yuffie narrowed her eyes, studying his features. It was nearly undetectable but she noticed his mouth quirk minutely. Yuffie smirked back at him, her storm grey eyes not leaving his midnight black ones. She watched as Chekov's footsteps slowed, stopping a handful of feet before her. With a sigh, Yuffie dropped her eyes to the ground, her mind whirling a mile a minute.

It was better for him to think she would submit and then guess her plans.

With her eyes on the ground, Yuffie backed up from Chekov – ignoring the slight laugh the man gave off – and clutching her Shuriken in her hand, taking a deep breath, she let the weapon fly. Whipping her head up, her eyes sharp and her face blank of emotion she watched with inner glee as Chekov jumped back in surprise.

"I told you," she said, effortlessly catching the Shuriken as it soared back to her. "I will _not_ be beaten by you."

Chekov smirked, his eyes glancing upward momentarily. Yuffie raised an eyebrow at the motion, but shrugged it off – she wasn't falling for his tricks! "If that is how you want to go through with this, you know the rules your father stated."

"You had to defeat the Pagoda, already did that, now you're the only one left," Yuffie said, monotone, her free hand reaching back for the pack on her hip. "I _already_ did this once before."

"Alas, you might have, but there's a _new_ ruler of Wutai now. You're at the _bottom_ now."

"You are, Miss. Kisaragi and you left us all waiting for you."

Yuffie paused, her body freezing up as she heard the voice from behind her. She knew that voice . . . Staniv.

"It's rude to keep us waiting for your return; we had a _wonderful_ surprise for you."

"You know the rules; you have to _beat_ each floor to move ahead . . ."

"And you just past them all by," Chekov broke in, his tone still monotone, his face blank. "Your father wouldn't be proud of that, you –"

"So, you're all going to fight me at once," Yuffie broke in, her voice just as dead. "Four Omni Gods against one girl, yes this is fair," she said, moving slightly so her back was against the wall, her grip tight on her Shuriken. She ignored the tinge as she gripped the Shuriken too tight, the metal cutting into her fingers. "I always knew you were below me, Chekov . . . and this proves it, four against one."

The four didn't say anything. She watched as Staniv appeared through the stairs leading down to the fourth level. She saw the last two emerge from the shadows of the living quarters from above, and she narrowed her eyes as she settled on Chekov, still standing beside the large table. He was smirking at her, his look mocking her – he knew.

He _knew_ that she would be so angry when she came face to face to him, that she would shut down her other senses, not noticing what was all around her.

Yuffie Kisaragi hadn't changed one bit – no matter how much she thought she had.

And he was going to prove that too her – he was going to beat the loudmouthed Princess at her own game.

"You have two choices _darling_; what will you choose?"

"I will owe the throne myself – I _DON'T_ need you!"

Chekov smirked, another piece of the puzzle. "You heard her then; she wants to play the game. Now, let's not waste the Princess's time, let's show her how it's done."

---

A/N

Rewrote this three different times && each version was different.

Yuffie's got herself in over her head again and we'll see what Marlene's up to next.

Everything's coming together, almost done, everyone!

As for the soundtrack, I wanted to add some of the tracks in, so I've been going through, adding the odd lyric inside.

Anyway, enjoy, R&R


	21. 21: With a Bang

Marlene balled her hands into her fists, sending a glare back at the red clad guard behind her. Like she was _going_ to run for it – Denzel was here, she had a whole slew of things to tell, no more like _yell_ at him.

"I don't _need_ any assistance; I'm not going to run away!"

She felt like she was five again, having someone shadowing her every step, following her down every corridor. She'd had _enough _of that growing up with AVALANCE and later with ShinRa chasing her and Elmyra, wanting to use them as hostages.

"That might be," the guard said, not looking at her. "But, we don't want any damage to our valuable employees."

Marlene rolled her eyes, gritting her teeth. If she _wanted_ to hit Denzel senseless, some guard wasn't going to hold her back. She'd learned enough from the WRO to hold her own – at least for a little while.

Lost in her thoughts, Marlene stumbled to a halt as she saw the red clad guard stop, almost walking into the man. She narrowed her eyes, placing her hands on her hips as she let out a huff. The _least_ he could have done was told her they were there. How _rude_!

"Right this way, _Princess_," he muttered, leering down at the girl. "Your _friends_ await you."

Marlene stood up to her full height as she glared heatedly at him. "I am **not** their friends – that's an _insult_! I would never be their friends!" Adding in a _hmph!_ Marlene turned on her heel, sticking her nose in the air.

She heard a chuckle behind her, but didn't turn around. Without batting an eye, Marlene grabbed the doorknob and turning it, pushed the door open with a slight creak.

She had to blink a couple times as she opened the door, her eyes adjusting to the darkness around her. The room was slightly bigger then the ones at the hotel she was staying at, with a couple lights adorning the far wall. Shaking her head – she _hated_ the darkness – and she couldn't help but cringe as she heard the door shut behind her. She gritted her teeth together; Yuffie had been right, you _really_ shouldn't turn your back on Wutai's guards.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, she glanced around the room, trailing her hand along the wall as she moved. It looked like it was a _hallway_ of some sort – hadn't Yuffie said that Wutai had a secret down every corridor? Now, she knew what the oriental girl meant. Watching her footsteps, Marlene walked slowly down the hall, straining to hear something before she was spotted. Shaking her head, Marlene tried to keep focused as she saw a silhouette at the end of the hallway, slowing her steps slightly.

"Oh come _on_," she mumbled under her breath.

It was a staircase – leading up, up; Marlene had to crane her neck to see the top.

Gritting her teeth once more, thinking a couple words she had learned eons ago from Cid, she started up the staircase. She couldn't _wait_ to see Denzel; she was going to ring his neck. Hardly caring anymore – this was getting ridiculous – she started quickly up the staircase, her thoughts propelling her forward. Reaching the top of the stairs, Marlene let out a sigh, brushing the imaginary dust from her outfit. Blowing her bangs out of her eyes, she balled her hands up into fists, hurrying down the hallway as she heard the low murmur of voices from down the hallway.

_Denzel_, her mind shouted at her.

He'd _regret_ this . . .

---

"I hate you Reno," Elena muttered, her voice muffled by the blanket wrapped around her. "I'm going to _kill_ you . . ."

"Ah, you know you wanted it," Reno replied, his smirk never leaving his face. "You've wanted that for years –"

"Augh, shut up!" Elena hissed, glaring heatedly at him as she stood up. "I really –"

"Enough!" Rufus's voice sounded, echoing through the small cove. "This is the _reason_ you're both like this, grow up."

"But Boss," Reno grumbled, flicking another soggy cigarette away in annoyance. "This is _all_ her damn fault – _someone_ just had to stand up and the rock the boat . . ."

"Reno," Elena hissed, her eyes narrowing even more as she moved to stand up. "You started this! You called me crazy –"

"You are."

Shaking her head, Elena turned her back on Reno, heading back to where Rude was trying to get a small fire going. "I want to go home – this is the _worst_ vacation ever."

Rufus shook his head from where he stood, leaning against the rocky wall. "You both brought in on yourself, you deserve it," Rufus shrugged, staring out at the dark water, eyes narrowed. "You both have to grow up, now. Rude, lets go."

"WAIT!" Elena shouted, shooting up, balling her hands into fists. "You're _leaving _us here? What kind of crap is that?"

She heard Rude moving around behind her, but the bigger Turk didn't say anything – or even look at her – as he past her by, stopping behind Rufus, seemingly fading into the background. She shot a glare at the two in the cove's opening, but held her tongue. This _had_ to be a joke . . . even though Rufus _wasn't_ one for jokes . . .

"You two simply need to get over your issues; perhaps that is why you always lost to AVALANCE. Until you two get over it, you will remain here."

"No way!" Elena said, her figure illuminated by the low fire. "This isn't funny, how long are you going to leave us here?"

Except for the howl of the wind, silence greeted her. Her jaw dropped as she saw the two figures turn their backs on her and Reno, heading for the exit. They really were going to leave them there. Her blue eyes narrowed as she saw Rude step onto the boat, moving to the control panels. Soon afterwards, the low thrum of the boat's engine mingled in with the howling wind. Elena moved her eyes from the boat to the ShinRa President, still standing on the outcropping of the rocks.

"Mr. President –"

Rufus turned to look at Elena then, with a smirk that made the blonde haired girl shiver – and that _wasn't _from the cold. "Make sure you tend to the fire."

And with that said, Rufus moved the short distance from the rocks to the boat.

"Isn't that just great," Reno drawled; his voice closer to Elena now. The blonde haired girl jumped, moving back as Reno was too close. "They left you and I alone, what now, Laney?"

"We tend to the fire," she brushed him off, moving to the other side of the small fire. "They started it somehow, so there has to be burnable things in here. I plan on being _alive_ when they get back here."

"Awe, come on Laney, have some fun," Reno said, rolling his eyes as he dropped down in front of the fire. "Have some fun for once, will you? Not _everything_ has to be work related."

Elena glared at him over her shoulder, rooting around in the flickering light. "Well, maybe you won't be when they come back . . ."

---

Bridget let out a yawn as she stretched, before flopping down in one of the large, poofy chairs that adorned the lavish room. "I never thought we'd get back here this soon – if at all!"

Liam rolled his eyes, throwing a look of distaste at the whining girl from the computer chair. "Maybe you should have stayed here instead . . ."

Bridget glared at him. "And have Lord Chekov yell at me? _Hello_, I'm not that stupid."

"You could have fooled me," Denzel muttered under his breath, shrugging as Bridget turned her heated glare at him. "It wasn't _that_ bad though. It _only_ lasted about an hour."

Bridget let out a huff, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, but it was _hardly_ fun. What did we have to tell him anyway? Yuffie Kisaragi is within the WRO headquarters and she's changed her appearance – he _already_ knows that from our emails! I noticed you clamed up when he mentioned Marlene though – but I agree with Lord Chekov; we should have brought Kisaragi back with us."

Liam let out a sigh from where he sat. Shaking his head, he cast a patronizing look at Bridget. "If I remember correctly, it was you who couldn't to get out of Junon – could you _seriously_ have waited for us to nab Kisaragi and get back here?"

"It couldn't have been that hard," Bridget brushed him off, waving a hand vaguely in his direction.

Denzel let out a small laugh from where he sat, crossing his arms over his chest. "_Yes_, grabbing Kisaragi would be like a walk in the park; you know, if she wasn't _always_ with Vincent and Tifa. Could you _imagine_ what Vincent Valentine would do? You wouldn't live to talk about it."

Bridget let out a small laugh. "Valentine, seriously? Come on, I heard he hadn't been out that crypt of his in ages –"

"That doesn't mean anything," Liam called over his shoulder. "He _slept_ for thirty years and still managed to shoot a gun straight enough to kill Hojo and Sephiroth. Three years would do nothing to that guy."

"Needless to say, if you wanted to get Yuffie Kisaragi; you would have to drug her to make her shut up and somehow avoid contact with everyone in that twenty floor building. Nope, you were right Bridget – it would have been easy!"

Bridget shot up from the bed in a huff, her limbs flying as she tried to right herself before launching herself at Denzel. "I swear," she grumbled, holding a fistful of Denzel's shirt, her eyes narrowed as she shook him slightly. "I am so sick of you talking to me like this! I swear – I _never_ want to go on another adventure with you!"

"So, tell me," Denzel drawled, brushing Bridget's hands aside. "What would you have done then since you want to go alone now?"

Bridget rolled her eyes, shooting him a death glare. "Knock her out and drag her out of the damn building; I'd take the fire escape or whatever," she waved it off, wasn't it obvious?

"Brilliant, just knock her out, how? She's a JENOVA war hero, she wouldn't do down that –"

"And she's allowed Lord Chekov to boss her around for the past couple years; some strong girl she is," Bridget let out a small laugh. "Yuffie Kisaragi is weak and once I had her . . . what _would_ they be able to do to me? One wrong move and I could kill her."

"Yes, but Chekov wouldn't be happy with that," Liam called, shaking his head. "He would be _real_ pleased if you killed the title that gave him the throne."

"He'd kill you – that is, if Valentine's aim didn't do it first," Denzel said, pushing her back down onto the bed with a smirk. "You have a death wish."

"You didn't do any better then I did," Bridget grumbled, trying to kick Denzel as he moved away. "Did you bring Kisaragi here? No."

"Ah, but I have information from the inside –"

"We **all** do; we were all in the WRO."

"Yes, but I became friends with Marlene, how long do you think it took for her to tell an old WRO member about what has been going on? I know where all the security cameras and breakers are. Lord Chekov has already told me that I am to be in charge of the assault on Junon in a couple weeks time. He wants Yuffie Kisaragi back; it's time for this kidnapping game to be over. The WRO will fall –"

"I **knew** I was wrong to trust you!"

Denzel jumped, surprised as another voice joined the group, the door slamming open. Liam blinked, looking over his shoulder as the door banged heavily against the wall, letting out a sigh. Bridget moved to sit up, her limbs flying in such a hurry as she picked herself off the bed, confusion written across her face. She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest as she realized who stood in the doorway, hands drawn up into fists.

"Well, well, what do we have here? A little spy for the WRO, we didn't except to see you again so soon, _Marlene_."

---

Yuffie grit her teeth as she stumbled backwards, grabbing her Shuriken as it came back around, whirling through the air towards her. Her eyes narrowed as she glanced around the almost destroyed room, watching the shadows for the four Omni-Gods. She had to curse her luck, of course her father would have taught them the same tricks her mother had taught her – it was like fighting _herself_ . . . times four, that was.

How she hated her luck.

Leviathan must really hate her . . .

She shook her head, dispelling the thought; Leviathan had hated her since she was thirteen anyway.

"Yuffie, please stop this," she heard Chekov say from the shadowed room, her eyes narrowing even more. How she wished she had a Thunder Materia on her to light the room for a couple seconds. "I hate having to fight like this; I wouldn't want to hurt you."

"Liar!" Yuffie shouted, grabbing a kunai from her side pouch, throwing it angrily in the direction of his voice. "You played my father like a fool and stole my throne from underneath me – I will defeat you and bring Wutai to glory once more!"

She heard a ghostly laugh, followed a creak from the floorboards above her head. "Are you sure about that, dear? How can you bring Wutai to glory when ShinRa is still around?"

"ShinRa is defeated; Midgar no longer exists and Rufus ShinRa is far from what he used to be."

He didn't need to know that Rufus ShinRa and the Turks were on the island.

"And of the WRO? What have they done for Wutai and the Planet? Have they saved it? Have they returned Wutai to glory? No; instead they kidnap Wutai's only Princess and employ the likes of Deepground Elitists and Human Experiments – yes, they are indeed honorable people to put trust in."

"Shut up!" Yuffie shouted, using her nimble moves to ascend the staircase without the wooden stairs creaking underneath her weight. "You know nothing of what you speak of; you can hold nothing over Shelke and Vincent, they are twice the person you will ever be!"

"Are they? The Deepground Elitist has killed people in cold blood without even batting an eye. While, the other is tormented by demons too numerous to count and has killed in cold blood as well; whether they were good or evil is beyond the point here. I am nothing like these _friends_ of yours that kill for sport without batting an eye; I am better then them, and by keeping you here with me; I will shield you from becoming another mindless killer."

"My friends are _not_ mindless killers and I am sure they are ten times the person you are, _dear_. My father made me leave Wutai at thirteen in search of materia – somehow, I learned to fend for myself and find my own friends –"

"You made the wrong choice; a thirteen year old hardly makes good choices."

Yuffie shrugged, fingering the couple kunai's she still had in her pouch. "Take that up with my father then – he shoved me out the door, it is his fault."

"Princess," she heard Staniv say from the shadows. She shook her head, resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she knew what was coming. "It is hardly fair to criticize your father like this; he ruled Wutai perfectly, he provided for you and tried to make Wutai a better place. Do not talk ill of his spirit."

Yuffie gritted her teeth together, stopping on one of the top steps, drawing her few remaining kunai from her pocket. "I will talk how I like about my _father_, you can not talk down to me," and with that, Yuffie let her kunai fly, drawing her Shuriken up as well before letting it fly too.

She heard her kunai connect with the wall, driving itself into the wood paneling with a soft thud. She stopped though as she heard a slight clink of metal on metal – her kunai had _found_ a target. All she would have to do now was follow the sound to her right, _someone_ was hiding there . . . waiting for her . . .

"I'm sick of this little game," Yuffie called, stopping on the landing. "Really, let's stop this cloak and dagger idea of yours. What would the people of Wutai think if their Princess was to die here in the Pagoda? Somehow, I doubt they would _applaud_ you for that."

She narrowed her eyes, crouching down slightly, ready to move in any direction at a moments notice. She couldn't allow herself to trust Chekov. Placing a hand on her hip, feeling an unfamiliar coolness press itself against her skin, she couldn't help but smirk.

Her ace in the hole, as Rufus had called it.

"_You're sure you can do this, Kisaragi?" Rufus asked, arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the small girl before him. "You know Chekov better then I do – he will have something planned."_

"_I know that," Yuffie muttered, a frown on her features as she pushed her hair behind her ears. She scowled as she looked at the boat the three Turks were working on, the boat rocking in the waves. What she wouldn't do for a Tranquilizer right then! "But, I have to go; otherwise, this will never end."_

_Rufus nodded slowly, his ever present smirk growing wider as he looked out at the vast ocean. "He's going to trample you, then. You'll die then."_

"_You should be happy," Yuffie muttered, turning her back to the ocean, glancing back at the bustling city of Junon, the WRO building towering overhead. "You'll have one less AVALANCE member to deal with, right? You must have some kind of grudge against us . . ."_

_Rufus rolled his eyes, letting out a huff. His footsteps hit the pavement beneath them roughly as he crossed the distance to where Yuffie stood. "You listen to me, brat," he grumbled, grabbing her shoulder tightly, turning her around to face him. "I don't give a damn about your AVALANCE crap; you are a WRO agent, putting us . . . on the same side momentarily. But, from one power house to another; you would be a much better _person _to make deals with instead of that arrogant ass."_

"_Arrogant ass," Yuffie mumbled, a grin coming to her features. "So then, he's just like you back in the ShinRa days."_

_Rufus shook his head, his smirk growing more pronounced. "Perhaps you're right – in that case, I would expect you to destroy him the same way you tried to do me in."_

"_Only this time, I'll succeed."_

_Rufus shrugged off her comment. "If he's anything like me, he won't be ready to play by your rules. You will have to be as underhanded as he is. But you're so good natured, can you even kill him? Hell, have you killed anyone?"_

_Phrased like that, his statement brought her up short._

"_You'll die for sure then," Rufus muttered, shaking his head. _

"_I've known Chekov since I was born, I know how he thinks. I can best him."_

"_Useless," Rufus shook his head. "Besting him – __**no**__, you must _**kill** _him, Kisaragi. Do you understand me?"_

_Yuffie_ _nodded. "Yes, kill him . . ."_

"_Before he kills you, preferably," Rufus shook his head. "You're no good to me dead, and I don't really fancy having Valentine coming after me."_

_Yuffie_ _let out a small laugh, placing her hand on her hip. "Yes, Vincent wouldn't be too pleased . . . that just means I have to win, right? Everything's ridding on Chekov dying."_

_  
"Can you kill him?" Rufus pressed, his other arm reaching out for her shoulder, gripping her tightly, making her wince slightly. "I want to hear you say it, Kisaragi. If you can't kill him, you're going back to the WRO."_

"_I can kill him," Yuffie grumbled, trying to brush his arms away. "I won't die to a coward like him – I will find a way to bypass him."_

_Rufus rolled his eyes, casting a glance back at his Turks. They all had his back to him – good. _

"_Listen – this _will _kill him. I am ordering you to use it Kisaragi. This will end it."_

_Yuffie_ _raised an eyebrow at Rufus, nodding her head slowly. What was he talking about? Rufus shook his head, letting out a small laugh as he dropped one of his arms from her shoulders, reaching beneath his bulky coat. She followed his hand warily, distrust appearing on her face._

"_What is it?" she asked, her nose curling up. What would Rufus ShinRa have that she would need?_

"_Something I know you don't own," he muttered, pulling out something black, shoving it into her lax grasp._

_Yuffie_ _blinked as a heavy weight was placed in her hands. Her eyebrows rose as she looked down, her expression freezing somewhere between horror, surprise and contempt. Her fingers curled around the shiny cool object, a backup plan forming in her mind. She shook her head, looking back up at Rufus, who was smirking down at her, arms crossed over his chest. _

"_I can't take this."_

"_You will take it; I have more where that came from. The only thing is – can you shoot it?"_

_Yuffie_ _glanced sparingly at him. "I did learn some things from Vincent, you know . . ."_

"_Good," Rufus said, turning away from her. "Hide it somewhere on your person where you can get it in a panic – I'm not loaning it to you for a toy. No one is to know you have it, now, let's go, it looks like they're ready."_

_Yuffie_ _nodded as Rufus took off, making his way over to the slightly rocking boat. Yuffie took a deep breath as she glanced at the boat before stowing the weapon close to her, shivering as the metal came in contact with her skin. _

Yuffie held her breath as she moved slowly across the landing, trying to dispense her weight evenly around her. She couldn't help but smirk as she held the cool metal against her skin and she couldn't help it as her fingers moved closer to her stomach where it rested beside her waist line. Slowly, she curled her fingers around the handle, slowly pulling it out of its hiding spot.

She would have to remember to thank Rufus later.

The weapon drawn – it felt foreign in her hands – she pressed her back up against the wall, spending a couple seconds trying to be reacquainted with the weapon she hadn't seen or touched for the past couple years.

"Come on Chekov," she yelled in the darkness. She'd had enough of this. "Are you telling me that you are not man enough to fight me one on one? I mean really . . . what kind of _man_ are you?"

She had spent _so_ many years growing up around the Omni-Gods that she knew how to push their buttons.

Straining her ears in the silence, she took a deep breath, calming her nerves. Remembering what Vincent had told her ages ago and the brief tips that Rufus had rattled off, she held the weapon out before her, bending her arms slightly as she squinted through the darkness. Slowly, she brought her finger over the trigger, resting it against there and waited.

"Yuffie Kisaragi, is it wise to taunt your husband like this? You are not in the greatest of positions."

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Only fools hide in the darkness . . . a real person would have already ended this. You had your chance when I arrived hours ago."

"How was I to know that my wife would be so fool hearty?"

Yuffie let that one slide, listening to only his voice, pinpointing his location. "All these years . . . you don't know me very well, do you? I _always_ have a back up plan."

"Do you now?" She could hear the drawl in Chekov's voice, he didn't believe her.

If only he knew . . . Yuffie Kisaragi, celebrated war hero, did not bluff.

"Yes . . . and _this_ is the end, Chekov."

Taking a deep breath, Yuffie squared her shoulders and pressed down on the trigger.

_**Bang!**_

She was ninety nine percent sure her aim was right.

Expelling her breath, Yuffie dropped the cool black gun to her side, leaning her back against the wall. Her breathing heavy – had she _really_ shot at someone? – she reached towards the wall, her fingers trailing across it until she came to a switch. Rolling her eyes – it was just her luck! – she grabbed the small knob, flicking it up.

The sight before her shocked her, even though she wasn't surprised.

Her aim had been right on; by listening to only his voice, she had managed to connect with her target. If she had been in a shooting range, or had her friends beside her, she would have let out a huge grin and without a doubt, jumped around claiming she did it. But instead, she dropped the gun to the ground with a heavy clang, her mouth in a tight line as she looked at the scene before her.

Chekov lay on the wooden floor, gasping with a hint of surprise on his face. The remaining Omni-Gods surrounded him, kneeling before him, mumbling Cure spells. Yuffie wanted to roll her eyes; Cure spells were useless against wounds from a gun. She wondered what they would think if they knew the gun came from ShinRa . . . she glanced down at the gun once again, not wishing to touch the cool metal again. It just wasn't her.

Her breath caught as she saw the tiny insignia on the side, the ShinRa symbol. Inwardly cursing herself, leave it to Rufus, she quickly bent down to scoop it up, and placing the safety back on it, placed it back in its hiding spot.

Standing up slowly, her grey eyes moving to the group of people on the other side of the room, she let out a sigh. She didn't _want_ it to end this way, she hadn't really wanted to kill him – just . . . oh . . . she didn't really know!

"You see," she said slowly, glancing in their direction and holding their gaze. "I told you I would **not** be bested by the likes of you."

"Miss Kisaragi!" Staniv yelled, glancing heatedly over his shoulder at her. "Look at what you've done, you have _killed_ Lord Chekov."

If she had been younger and inexperienced, she would have bit her lip and trembled, fighting back tears. But, he had tormented her, forbade her to see her old friends and comrades, she didn't feel as . . . _sad_.

"You brought this on yourself, Chekov, and I am sorry that it had to end this way. I did not want it to happen this way, but I do not need you to rule Wutai. If only you and my father had listened to me, it would not have had to end this way."

"Enough," Chekov said, moving his head forward so that he could glance at the dark haired woman. "I do not need pity from you. You have doomed Wutai, a woman can not rule like a man can. Wutai will crumble thanks to you and your ShinRa ties."

"That's not –"

"Leave us, _Princess_," Staniv said, glancing heatedly at her before turning his attention back to Chekov. "We will not discuss this now."

Yuffie rolled her eyes, turning on her heel to leave. "Do what you wish – but I am the Kisaragi heir, the throne is my birthright and you nor any other man shall take it from me. I am _not_ leaving until it is known to the public and you believe it completely."

Stretching slightly, Yuffie shook her head as she descended down the wooden stairwell.

That hadn't gone the way she planned, but she wondered vaguely, if it had gone the way Rufus had in mind.

She rolled her eyes as she stopped on the floor below – which she noted, was pretty well destroyed – she didn't really care what Rufus did, or had in mind.

Wutai was hers . . . now to find Marlene . . .

---

A.N.

Yes, I know it's been a while.

Full Time Job + Christmas & New Years = no spare time.

The stories winding up, maybe two chapters to go.


	22. 22: Loose Strings

Marlene let out a huff, her eyes flickering to Bridget's hostile form minutely. She rolled her eyes at the girl, before turning her attention back to Denzel – her eyes narrowed and a scowl on her features.

Denzel blinked, slight surprise on his features; he hadn't expected _this_. He knew he had grown close to Marlene again . . . but for _her_ to appear in Wutai, at the Pagoda and in their room, was too much.

"H – how . . .?" He stuttered, trying to find the right words through the shock.

Liam leaned over the back of his chair, a frown marring his face as he looked, half interested in Marlene's direction. "Deal with this, Denzel," he grumbled, turning his attention back to his computer.

Marlene's face darkened a bit more, her scowl becoming more pronounced. "_Deal with me_?" she repeated in a bored tone, her hands curling up into fists. "Yes, Denzel . . . please do deal with me. You've already _betrayed_ me –"

"I didn't betray –"

"Shut up!" Marlene yelled, her voice echoing in the tiny room. "I don't _care_ what you have to say – I don't want to hear anything from you!"

"Then why are you here?" Bridget drawled, her arms crossed over her chest, hands still in fists. "If you don't _want_ to hear anything from us – why the hell did you come all the way out here?"

"I knew Denzel was hiding something –"

"I told you it would fall through," Bridget grumbled, turning to glance mockingly in Denzel's direction. "You said you could handle Marlene, make her see things your way because she's –"

"Bridget!"

Bridget just smirked at Denzel, her eyes glinting in the low light. "She's _weak_," Bridget let out a small laugh, turning around to look at Marlene. "Yes, Denzel said you're _weak_, the weak link to be exact."

"You . . ." Marlene stumbled for words, her desire derailed for a couple seconds as she glanced from Bridget to Denzel. "I'm _weak_ . . . weak . . ." she shook her head. "I can't believe I ever liked you."

"_Liked you_," Bridget mocked, her lip curling up, showing her teeth. "You sure know how to play things to your advantage. I give you credit, you actually _planned_ ahead, and here I was thinking she was useless."

"I wasn't talking to you," Marlene said in a rush, turning her glare onto Bridget, taking a few steps into the room. "I am sick of hearing something sarcastic, rude and annoying from you – you . . . you **idiot**!"

Denzel blinked, looking from Marlene to Bridget, torn between two. Liam's fingers stopped on the keyboard, glancing over his shoulder again, a smile playing across his lips. His shoulders shook slightly in a muted laugh, shaking his head as Denzel cast him a withering look.

"_Idiot_?" Bridget said, her voice rising higher as her face twisted up into anger. "Idiot?! You're calling _me_ an idiot when you're the one being played."

Marlene shrugged her shoulders, waving off Bridget's comments. "Maybe I am, but it takes one to know one – you're _no_ better then me! I may not be as snarky as you, but at least," Marlene's eyes flickered to Bridget's hair.

"What, my _hair_ colour makes me dumber then you?" Bridget said, her shoulders shaking with anger, her hands curling into fists, releasing them and starting over again. "You think because you live in some sky rise building with every technology and fighter surrounding you, you're an elitist?"

"God, shut up!" Marlene shouted, her face contorted into rage.

Taking a few steps forward, her hands balling up into fists, her narrowed eyes fixated on Bridget's equally annoyed body. Shaking his head as Liam let out a laugh, turning back to his computer, mumbling something about girls, did Denzel notice that the two girls were standing closer to each other.

But, before he could do anything, Marlene had crossed the distance between herself and Bridget, and raising a hand, brought her fist to connect with Bridget's cheek.

Denzel stopped, his mouth hanging open as the two connected, Bridget stumbling back.

A smirk graced Marlene's features, shaking her hand slightly from the impact.

Liam continued typing on his computer, caring less what the two warring girls were doing.

Bridget stumbled back, surprise written across her face, her fingers flying up to her cheek.

"N-now Bridget, Marlene," Denzel looked between the two, raising his hands as if to placate them. "It's really no –"

Bridget's eyes narrowed as she caught her balance, glaring daggers in Marlene's direction. "You're such a bitch," she yelled, before launching herself at the brunette.

Marlene let out a small _eep_ as Bridget lunged at her – something she _wasn't_ expecting – knocking her to the ground. She brought her arms up to cover her face as Bridget lashed out at her. Gritting her teeth together, Marlene brought her knees up, hitting Bridget in the small of her back. Marlene smirked slightly as Bridget stopped and grasping Bridget's shoulders; shoved her off. "God, you're _heavy_!"

Ignoring Bridget, Marlene stood up, brushing the dirt off of her clothes. Glancing up, holding Denzel's gaze, Marlene couldn't help but let out a scowl, her face darkening. "You _lied_ to me, you used me! You're a bigger jerk then I thought!"

"Marlene, listen to me," Denzel said, taking a step towards her. Marlene shook her head, balling her hands up into fists as she stepped back from him. "I was only trying to find out what Wutai was up to, you know that Reeve sent me here to investigate."

"I read your email," Marlene yelled, backing up again. "You were looking for Yuffie, you told _Chekov_ everything –"

"You read my email," Denzel said blankly. "How could you? That was _private_."

"I don't care," Marlene said airily, shrugging her shoulders. "You betrayed me and everyone else, so I don't care if I disappointed you!"

"I told you she couldn't be trusted," Bridget said, silently appearing again. She smirked again as Marlene jumped, edging away from her, towards the door. "But you wouldn't listen to me, you said Marlene _wouldn't do anything to hurt you_," she rolled her eyes. "Still believe your fairy tale?"

"What'd you do with them, Marlene?"

"I printed them off," she said, now in the doorway. "I left them in my room – but how long will it be before Reeve and the others find them? They'll **all** know what you did!"

Denzel shook his head. "And will Reeve listen to you? You're not in the WRO Marlene; you have no idea what Reeve was planning . . ."

"Denzel . . ." Bridget warned, switching her glare between Marlene and Denzel.

"Shut up, Bridget," he grumbled, glaring at the other girl again. "Marlene, we need to talk."

"I'll pass _thanks_," Marlene rolled her eyes, turning on her heel, heading for the staircase.

"You can't let her leave; she knows too much," Bridget said, flopping back down onto the bed, glancing at her fingernails. "She really hits hard . . ."

Denzel vaguely nodded, hardly listening to her chatter. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he made for the doorway, Marlene's footsteps echoing from further down the stairwell.

---

Tifa let out a sigh, closing her eyes momentarily as she shook her head. She ran a hand down her face, a hand on her hip as she glanced out at the ocean that separated the once small town of Costa del Sol from Wutai. She narrowed her eyes, wishing she had brought her sunglasses with her – but they were _right_ where she left them; on the counter in the kitchen . . . back in Junon.

"I can't believe she isn't here, I _really_ thought she would be . . ." she had thought for sure that Marlene would be here in Costa del Sol, visiting Elmyra.

But, staring out at the water, she had a sinking feeling that Marlene was heading for Wutai. She could see it happening; Marlene had started _hating_ being thrown to the sides, left out of all the action. She shook her head, dispelling the thoughts as she made her way up the metal ramp, her footsteps echoing underneath her, her lips turned down in a frown.

She heard the ramp ascend behind her, followed by the sound of a lock connecting as she flopped down on the nearest seat. With a sigh, she leaned her head back, closing her eyes. "Where are we going next?" she muttered, bringing her legs up onto the couch and tucking them underneath her.

"Wutai," came Cloud's voice from the front, followed by the sounds of buttons being pushed as the aircraft started to whirl, preparing for take off.

"Wutai . . . you don't think Marlene _really_ went there, do you? She wouldn't just take off like that."

She opened her eyes, narrowing them in Cloud's general direction at his words. She nodded though, stretching her arms out. "I suppose, we can have a look. Yuffie's there anyway most likely . . ." she couldn't help but glance in Vincent's direction.

"It was Reeve's idea," Vincent said, his crimson eyes looking intently in the bartender's direction. "If Marlene wasn't with Elmyra, his suggestion was to check out Wutai. He said that Marlene had visited him a couple days ago with suspicions about Denzel, believing that he was working with Wutai and was told to keep tabs on Yuffie and what she was up to here."

Tifa, who was leaning back in the chair, eyes closed, shot up at the mention of Denzel, eyes narrowed. "What do you mean; Denzel was keeping tabs on Yuffie?"

"Marlene overheard Denzel talking to his friends about Yuffie and according to Reeve she managed to hack into his email –"

"I _knew_ Marlene was hanging out with Shelke too much . . ."

"Anyway, Reeve didn't think much of it; he sent Denzel to Wutai to keep tabs on them. It is only natural that in order to get close to them, Denzel would have to do certain things to guarantee that he would find out what we needed. Reeve didn't seem too worried about what Marlene said – but, she didn't listen to him."

"How like her," Tifa muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. "She _never _listens. I swear; she's getting worse the older she gets! Oh, I'm going to _hate_ this teenage years!"

Cloud let out a laugh from the front as the helicopter left Costa del Sol behind, the large span of the ocean beneath them. "You sound like her mother, Tifa."

Tifa rolled her eyes. "I practically raised her Cloud, I'm the closest thing she _has_ to a mother, Barret admits that himself," Tifa shook her head. "I just want this to end, already."

Cloud shook his head, letting out a small laugh. Tifa let out a sigh, leaning back into the chair with a frown, looking impatiently out the window. Impatiently, her foot jittered as she caught sight of the oriental country on the far off horizon.

---

Reaching the bottom floor of the Pagoda, Yuffie couldn't help but let out a small frown as she glanced upwards.

She had done it, she had defeated Chekov _finally_.

The feel of the gun against her made her shiver – she _didn't _like it.

In that sense, she couldn't wait to see Rufus ShinRa again.

She shook her head though; she didn't have time to worry about that.

She had to find Marlene first and then . . . deal with ruling the country.

"_Rule_ Wutai," she muttered to herself, her expression freezing in place. "What the hell . . . am I _supposed_ to do with that!?"

No doubt, running Wutai would _totally_ limit her commitment to the WRO and what she wanted to do . . .

"Damn it, I didn't think of that!"

Yuffie stomped her foot in anger, her hands curling up into fists.

Sometimes, she wanted to _hate_ acting irrationally – why the hell hadn't she just _left_ Wutai to Chekov. But _no_, she had to kill the jerk and leave herself in charge. "I'm so stupid!" she cursed, smacking her fist loudly into her palm.

"_So_, why are you so stupid?"

Yuffie jumped, one hand flying to her heart while her other reached for her back pocket. Her eyes narrowed as she heard a creak from the stairwell before someone ran around the corner, stumbling to a stop. Letting out a sigh, they drew themselves up to their full height and flicking their hair back behind their shoulders before placing their hands on their hips.

"_Marlene_ – where were you?" Yuffie brought her eyebrows together; she had already looked everywhere . . .

Marlene shrugged. "Down some hallway, through a door, up a winding staircase to some other room," Marlene waved the comment aside. "Probably some secret room or something, but whatever, I'm done here."

Yuffie raised an eyebrow. "Okay . . ." she shook her head. "Let's go, we've got things to do."

"Marlene, wait!"

Yuffie and Marlene paused, glancing in the direction of the stairwell. Yuffie raised an eyebrow, confusion written across her face. Marlene, however, let out a huff of annoyance and whirling around on her heel, placed her hand on Yuffie's back. "Come on, lets go quickly now."

"What? Marlene, who?"

"Stop right there, Mari."

Marlene let out a groan of annoyance as she stopped, a couple feet away from the door. Slowly, her face blank, she turned around to face the sandy haired male standing in the archway. She heard Yuffie let out a small gasp as she turned around to see who was there. Marlene, her arms crossed over her chest, took a couple steps forward before stopping. "What do you want? I don't have _anything_ to say to you – ever!"

"What? What _happened_ between you two?" Yuffie commented idly, coming up to Marlene, her eyes never leaving Denzel's.

"It's a misunderstanding, that's all."

Marlene let out a laugh, shaking her head. "I think _not_," she turned to glance momentarily at Yuffie. "He's been working with Chekov; he's been telling him _everything_ you've been doing until now. He's a _traitor_, he's the reason Chekov knew you were in Junon!"

"What?!" Yuffie narrowed her eyes, her hands curling up into fists as she quickly crossed the room, stopping in front of Denzel. "You little . . ." she shook her head. "I have _nothing_ to say to you. Marlene, we're leaving."

Denzel rolled his eyes as Yuffie turned away from him, striding back across the room. Shoving his hands into his pants pockets, Denzel let out a sigh of annoyance before he started after them. "Reeve sent me here, I'll have you know," he smirked as the two stopped, Yuffie leaning on the open door shot him a patronizing look. "His _orders_ were to get into the Pagoda at whatever cost so that I could get close to Chekov. You know as well as I do that people like Tifa and Vincent wouldn't exactly blend in here. While I, on the other hand, worked behind the scenes during the Omega Incident, so it was unlikely that Chekov would ever suspect me."

"And _why_ should we trust you?" Yuffie muttered, glaring in his direction. "You could be lying to get what you want."

Denzel stopped a couple steps away from Yuffie and Marlene, glancing at each one, before stopping his gaze at Yuffie. "I _know_ you must have come here for a reason; I have no doubt you have dealt with Chekov already."

Yuffie nodded slowly, glancing away from Denzel to the forest line cutting the Pagoda off from the lit town of Wutai. "Yes . . . Chekov has been dealt with."

Marlene let out a gasp, her hands flying to her lips as her eyes widened in surprise. Denzel shook his head, his eyebrow rising slightly in the process. Yuffie let out a laugh, dropping her hand onto Marlene's head, giving it a shake. "Don't worry so much, I can run Wutai while being part of the WRO –"

"That's not what I mean," Marlene muttered, pointing back in the direction Denzel had come from. "_That's_ what I mean."

Frowning, Yuffie glanced back into the shadows. "Alright, whoever you are; come out here already."

A scowl on her face that distorted the rest of her face, her hair falling across her face and her hands balled up into fists at her sides, Bridget stepped out of the shadows. Her gaze flickered between the three congregated around the Pagoda's doors, before stopping on Denzel.

"You . . . I can't _believe_ I trusted you!" she yelled, her form shaking in anger. "You were our leader, Lord Chekov trusted you and all along, you were doing this for _them_!" She let out a harsh laugh, stopping in the middle of the floor. "I knew something was up with you when you saw _her_ again." She rolled her eyes, moving her gaze over to Marlene.

"It's already over," Yuffie said, pushing herself away from the ornate door, allowing it to slowly shut behind her. "I am the ruler of Wutai now, so you _will_ stand down."

Bridget flicked her eyes over to Yuffie, glancing patronizingly at her. "It's _over_, you say Princess? How can that be, Lord Chekov has already been crowned and you have yet to –"

"I am the Ruler here; I will have you know Bridget. I am the Kisaragi heir, not Chekov. He is _only_ on that throne because of my father's doing, I am still in control whether he chooses to believe that or not. But, Chekov is in _no_ position to tell me what to do anymore."

"What _did_ you do?" Marlene whispered, her eyebrows coming together in confusion.

Bridget let out a snort. "Could you even _do _anything, Princess? Last time I checked, you hardly spoke."

"He pushed my buttons one too many times; he should have known from my tract record – when I snap, I _snap_," Yuffie shook her head, as if to shake off some memory. "Besides, five against one is hardly fair . . ."

"Yuffie . . .?"

"Chekov might make himself sound invincible and indestructible but there is one thing that _everyone_ is susceptible too." With a shudder, Yuffie reached down, and with a sigh, pulled out the gun Rufus had given her – the side with the ShinRa logo facing away from the irate teenager.

Bridget's face paled slightly. "You . . . shot him?"

"Yuffie!" Marlene huffed, placing her hands on her hips. "How could you do that?"

"How'd you even get one – let alone shoot it?" Denzel mused, glancing at the gun.

"A friend taught me ages ago, as for the gun, a common place ally gave it to me."

Marlene smirked, muttering that she knew what _friend_ had taught her – which earned her a sharp jab in the back.

"Chekov has been dealt with," Yuffie said, her voice flat. "I am the heir – and ruler – of Wutai and I am hereby _refusing_ to bow to any man who thinks he can control my throne. Chekov's reign is over, _I'm_ in control now."

Bridget let out a sigh, pursing her lips as she glared in Yuffie direction. Slowly, she dropped her hands to her side, frowning. "Fine, welcome back, _Princess_ Yuffie Kisaragi . . . _heir_ to the Wutai throne."

Yuffie let out a smirk. "Good. Keep that in mind, tell that Liam kid – wherever he is – that this is _over_," she sent a glare in Bridget's direction as she pocketed her gun. Nodding with a slight bow, Bridget turned on her heel, stalking off. "Now," she said brightly, leaning back against the door, opening it slightly. "I say we get _out_ of here."

"Agreed!" Marlene chirped, raising her fist into the air, before letting out a laugh, running out the door.

Yuffie shook her head, glancing after her. "She _hasn't _changed . . ."

"Course not," Denzel said, shoving his hands back into his pockets. "She wouldn't be our Marlene then."

---

Marlene let out a sigh, a frown coming to her features as the Pagoda disappeared from view, the forest surrounding them as they headed down through a time worn path. She glanced back at Denzel, her eyes narrowing slightly – he was _so_ going to have to earn her trust again – as he glanced downward, hands in his pockets. Shaking her head, she looked back at Yuffie who was walking ahead of them, her head held high as if she knew where she was going. "Yuffie . . . _where_ are you taking us – the towns back the other way."

"I know that," Yuffie shrugged, not breaking her stride. "I'm not going into town, we're leaving the same way that I got here," here, Yuffie rooted through her pockets for something, pulling out a small cell phone. "I just have to call them . . . and we'll be out of here."

Marlene blinked, nodding slowly. "Alright . . . _so_ who is it then?"

"Hmm?" Yuffie muttered, scrolling through her cell phone list as she slowly came to a stop. She shook her head as she saw Marlene looking at her. "Sorry, wasn't listening; anyway, ShinRa and his Turks."

"Reno," Marlene whined, wrinkling her nose up. "Not him, he's _so_ annoying!"

Denzel rolled his eyes. "Great, he's the most _un_professional person I've ever met before."

Marlene coming to a stop beside Yuffie, glanced back at Denzel, an eyebrow raised. She paused as she saw Denzel pull a pack of cigarette's from his pocket; a lighter in his other hand. "I thought you told me you were going to stop," she said, throwing him a withering look.

Denzel chuckled, flicking his cigarette lighter to life. "The thought of _Reno_ just makes me –"

Yuffie let out a laugh, throwing her head back. "Reno makes _everyone_ feel that way, Tifa used to always want to punch his lights out, which reminds me," she trailed off with a frown. "I _still_ owe him one from that time in the sunken submarine . . ."

Marlene nodded, leaning against the nearest tree, sinking down until she was sitting on the cold ground. "So . . . how _are_ we getting home? I'm not _swimming_ there, there's a boat at the other end of town."

Yuffie her back turned on Marlene, didn't seem to hear her as she fumbled through her cell phone, scanning the numbers. "There it is," she muttered to herself, hitting the talk button with a flourish. Humming to herself, she brought the phone to her ear, slowly walking away from the two teens. "Hey," she drawled when the line connected, a wide grin appearing on her face. "Yeah, it's done, completely. Oh, the after effects? I _don't_ know – I took off. Yeah, yeah, later," she paused, stomping her foot. "I don't break promises, you know it! Okay . . . . maybe that was once, but that was _so_ outside my control. Yes, I'm in the meeting spot, I need you to get back here."

Denzel sighed, flopping down on the ground next to Marlene. The brunette cast him a look before shifting down slightly. Yuffie shook her head, suppressing a laugh as she looked out at the dark waters. Rolling his eyes, Denzel leaned back in the grass, closing his eyes, ignoring Marlene's snub. Yuffie, on the other hand, shook her head as she folded her phone up, placing it back into her pocket. With a sigh; she turned around to face the other two, placing her hands on her hips. "They're _not_ coming."

Marlene blinked a couple times, an eyebrow raising. "You're _kidding_ right?" When Yuffie shot her a look, she grumbled under her breath, kicking a rock as she moved to stand up. "See, we should have just gone through town the first time . . ."

Denzel shrugged, brushing his clothes off as he stood up. "Who cares, I'm done with this Island, let's go."

"Alright, well, hurry up then," Yuffie said with a curt nod, heading back the way they came through the beaten path. "I want to get _off_ of here too; I've got more important things to look after."

"I don't think I want to be in the WRO anymore," Marlene muttered to herself, following the other two moodily into the bushes. "There's _way_ to may hassles!"

Yuffie grinned over her shoulder. "It's not that bad, it can be quiet thrilling actually – all that espionage, heart thumping running around and fighting jerks – course the money's great too!"

Denzel rolled his eyes. "Like you _needed_ any money . . ."

"That was my father's money," Yuffie brushed him off, waving her hand vaguely in his direction. "Like hell I was going to touch it, I don't owe him _anything_."

Marlene let out a laugh. "That's our Yuffie – you make everything difficult."

"Well, whatever, life's more interesting that way."

Denzel raised an eyebrow, glancing back at Marlene. She just shook her head, a smirk on her features as she threw her hands up into the air. Sighing, Denzel turned back, narrowing his eyes as he glanced around the forest. He had spent enough time in Wutai to understand their culture; they could be deadly silent when they wanted to be, sneaking up on you when you least expected it. He glanced warily at the Pagoda as it came into sight through the breaks in the forest. In his opinion, the large red building seemed out of place in the secret, ninja filled town – but, like Yuffie, the building seemed to scream out _here I am_; maybe there was no winning after all.

"Stop," Yuffie muttered, throwing her hand out to stop them. She narrowed her eyes, crouching down to the undergrowth as she glanced heatedly in the direction of the Pagoda.

Denzel stopped, his hands balling into fists as he looked around the surrounding forest for whatever it was Yuffie saw. "What is it?" he hissed, moving to crouch beside her. Yuffie just threw him an annoyed look before turning away. "Fine, fine, whatever," he shrugged, looking halfheartedly in the same direction.

"What _are_ you doing down there?" Marlene said, coming to a stop beside them. "That's not going to help us!"

"Shut up," Denzel hissed, glaring up at her.

Marlene let out a huff, hands on her hips. "_Excuse_ me?"

Yuffie let out a groan, and reaching over Denzel, grabbed Marlene's hand, yanking her to the ground. Marlene let out a small yelp as she tumbled to the ground, wrenching her arm out of Yuffie's grasp to glare heatedly at her – which the oriental girl didn't see anyways. Denzel, not looking back at the other girl, simply pointed ahead. Sighing, Marlene glanced where Denzel was pointing; she was getting _really_ sick of all this secrecy, no speaking thing. Her dad was right (as much as she _hated_ to admit that) she was never going to sign a contract to join the WRO permanently.

"Hey," she drawled, her face brightening up slightly. "That's Tifa!"

---

Tifa frowned, stretching her arms out before her as she emerged from the thin path. Shaking her head, her long hair falling into her eyes, she couldn't help but roll her eyes at the sight of the looming building. She hated the sight of the red building, she remembered all to well what had happened the last couple times she had come to Wutai. They had lost their materia the first time and then had to deal with Don Cornea. Then that message from Yuffie and Chekov brushing them off; it just started everything all over again.

"Come on you guys," she grumbled, turning around on her heel. "I don't have time for this."

Cloud shook his head, stifling a laugh as he appeared in the clearing as well. "Give it a rest, Teef; it's not like Yuffie's going anywhere."

Tifa threw him a look. "Like you know – you weren't _here_ last time. Chekov would probably kill –"

"I doubt it," Cloud grumbled, pushing Tifa lightly. "I can't see Yuffie _dying_ for any jerk, she can hold her own."

"Maybe," Tifa shrugged. "Hurry up though!" she stomped her foot for good measure.

Vincent let out a sigh. "You're acting just like Yuffie."

"Eh, her personality kind of rubs off on you," she said, laughing awkwardly. She shrugged, picking up her pace again. "That's why she's coming with us; she can live in the WRO building somewhere."

"Tifa!"

The reaction in the clearing was instant. Tifa paused, whirling around on her heels, drawing her fists up before her. Vincent's eyes flashed as he reached for the gun holster on his hip while Cloud reached back for his Buster Sword; his eyes narrowed. The bushes cross the open clearing rustled while Marlene pushed off Yuffie's arm and pushing Denzel to the floor with a grunt as she got up from her crouch, sending a glare in the twos direction. Once out of the bushes, Marlene brushed off her clothes, a smile appearing on her face as she waved cheekily at the small ragtag group.

"Awe, come on," Marlene whined, clasping her hands behind her back. "Don't point your weapons at me – I'm your friend."

Tifa sighed, dropping her fists to her hips. "What are you _doing_ here; this is dangerous."

Marlene scoffed. "_Please_; I showed up, got dragged around the Pagoda by some guard, fought a couple people, found a friend and escaped. Pain in the butt though; it's so _blah_ . . ."

". . . do I even want to know?" Tifa muttered, shaking her head as she glanced back at Cloud and Vincent.

Yuffie sighed, rolling her eyes at Marlene's phrasing. "Sounds familiar, huh?" she muttered, grinning widely as she stepped out of the bushes as well. "Just like a younger version of me," Yuffie grinned cheekily as she leaned dramatically against Marlene.

The girl scoffed, pushing Yuffie off her. "Uh huh, sure."

Tifa blinked, raising an eyebrow. "How did you get here Yuffie?"

"I got a ride from a friend," Yuffie shrugged, her eyes glinting as she grinned cheekily at the ragtag group. "Chekov's already been dealt with, lets get out of here."

"Real informative," Tifa drawled. "So, Chekov's . . .?"

"Don't know," Yuffie shrugged. "Left afterwards, don't know, don't care. Wutai is _mine_ again, not his."

Tifa shook her head. "Okay, whatever, explain in the helicopter. Oh, Marlene, your father's going to _kill_ you for this stunt."

"What else is new!" Marlene stomped her foot, throwing her hands to the sky. "I'm not six anymore – I don't _need_ his permission every step of the way!"

Cloud shook his head, letting out a laugh. "I don't he'll care, you'll _always _be his little Marlene . . ."

"Cloud," Marlene whined, glaring at him as she balled her hands up into fists. "I'm not six anymore."

"After this stunt, I'm really not sure."

Marlene let out a groan, her face turning red as she glowered at Cloud. The blonde swordsman just shook his head, turning his back on her. Gritting her teeth together, Marlene stomped her heel, before taking off after Cloud. Denzel shook his head, rooting through his pockets as he took after Marlene. Yuffie just let out a laugh, her storm grey eyes flickering from Tifa to the silent gunslinger standing behind the bartender.

"I have a lot to tell you," she said more to Vincent then to the bartender staring her down. She could tell from the look on his face and the harsh line his lips were set in, that he wasn't in the greatest mood at the moment. She let out a sigh before placing a smile on her face. "Well then, it looks like I have a lot to tell you, huh?" Nodding to her own question, she crossed her arms over her chest, starting towards Tifa. "C'mon, it'll take longer then a helicopter ride."

---

A/N –

The most _hardest_ chapter to write!

Talk about a writers block, I had no idea what to do with this chapter, tying all the different story lines together.

Maybe 1 – 2 chapters left, we'll see how it goes.

Enjoy.


	23. 23: The end of it all

_Three months later . . ._

Chekov had been dealt with.

After explaining the events that took place in the Pagoda, she'd crashed.

Yuffie remained like that for two days; the excitement and nerve racking adventure finally catching up with her. Once rested, she quickly exclaimed that she was going home.

Tifa had frowned, while Cloud shook his head. She noticed Vincent stiffen slightly at her proclamation but he didn't say anything. Reeve commented that he was coming with her while Marlene curled her nose up at the thought. "I'm _not_ going there again!" she'd said, rolling her eyes. Denzel let out a laugh, pushing the brunette slightly; he was returning to Wutai as well.

"Why do you want to go back there, Yuffie?" Tifa asked, leaning against the kitchen counter. "You _ran_ away from –"

"I ran from Chekov and he's gone, Teef. I can bring Wutai out of the gloom and, if I'm capable, I hope to slowly break away from our traditions and join the rest of Gaea," Nodding to herself, Yuffie glanced at the small group congregated around the table. "But, you can't get rid of me that easily! I'm still part of the WRO – there's _no_ way that I can just sit in the Pagoda doing nothing!"

Her storm grey eyes flicked over to Vincent's, remaining there for a fraction of a second longer before moving on. "I have to go home," she mumbled, looking down. "I have a plan for Wutai – and I have to figure out a way to free Shelke . . ."

Even though Chekov had been done in, Shelke still seemed to remain unconscious. That was _one_ of the reasons she wanted to return; Chekov had caused this so it was only right that she try to solve it. Regardless of what they told her, she still thought it was her fault. Deep down, she knew she should have tried to solve it without involving them.

That was why Reeve was coming with her – even though he wouldn't admit it – he wanted to see for himself what had happened. Yuffie was fine with that; she hated computers anyway.

An hour later, standing on the roof of the WRO building, she gritted her teeth when she noticed Reno, smoking a cigarette as he leaned against the helicopter. "Ugh, what're _you_ doing here, Reno?"

Flicking his cigarette, Reno pushed himself away from the helicopter, smirking at her. "Come on Princess, that's no way to talk to me; I fell in the damn ocean helping you."

"Please," Yuffie rolled her eyes. "That was _after_ you dropped me off – I should really thank Elena for throwing you overboard."

"Che, I took Laney down with me – I know she liked it."

"Pig," Yuffie grumbled, shoving him aside. "I can't believe _you're_ coming too . . ."

"Heh, might just set up a residence there too; the locals look pretty fine –"

"You're banned from Wutai," Yuffie grumbled, climbing up into the helicopter. "Like I want people turning out lime you . . ."

"Don't be so stiff," Reno grumbled, clambering up into the pilot's seat. "You know that'd be _way_ more interesting."

Yuffie rolled her eyes, flipping him off as she sat down heavily onto the seats. "Like hell I do, just get me to Wutai, you hear?"

Reno shook his head, glancing over his shoulder, smirking at Yuffie. "I don't know how you're going to deal with her Valentine," he grumbled, glancing at the silent gunslinger. "You're totally going to have your hands full."

"Why you," Yuffie grumbled, narrowing her eyes as she grabbed the nearest thing – her cell phone – before throwing it at Reno. The red head grinned, dodging the object. "I hate you," Yuffie grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Now, now, don't say that – you need me to give you a ride, remember."

Yuffie just grumbled under her breath, looking in the opposite direction stubbornly. Reno just smirked, muttering something about her before returning his attention to the controls before him. Minutes later, the helicopter left the helipad, quickly making its way through the sky.

Twenty minutes later, the helicopter landed on Wutai soil – a kilometer or so away from the Pagoda – Yuffie hated to admit it, but she was glad to be home. Throwing off her seatbelt, she had scrambled across the metallic floor, threw open the door and jumped down into the grass.

After all the hell Wutai had put her through – she wasn't sure why she was so glad to return.

Working closely with Reeve – that was, when he wasn't busy working his way through Wutai's computer systems – she had slowly changed Wutai's outlook. The people had accepted her as their leader without any problems; they actually seemed _relieved_ when she took the throne. The curfew on the land was removed and the stress that Chekov's reign seemed to bring about seemed to slowly disappear.

Searching through the computers, Reeve had eventually managed to figure out what had happened to Shelke. It was well known what the ex-Tsviet was capable of doing and it seemed that Chekov had created some sort of virus to lay in waiting, should she go snooping around. Alongside Rude (who seemed to be exceptionally knowledgeable about viruses) they had been able to eradicate the virus and within a week, the Tsviet was up and moving again – and extremely ticked off.

Yuffie wasn't surprised when Shelke appeared on Wutai, throwing the Pagoda doors open, her dual weapons in hand. Needless to say, those residing in the Pagoda were surprised – wasting no time to vacate the main room.

"Shelke, good to see you're up and moving again," Yuffie said, leaning over the banister, smirking at the brunette. "Now, just put your weapons down – I thought I was your friend," Yuffie laughed, vaulting over the railing, landing lightly on the main floor.

Shelke glared at her, her weapons returning to her side. "Where's that _bastard_ Chekov?"

"He's gone," Yuffie shrugged. "Shot him with a gun ShinRa gave me – you're a month too late."

Shelke glared, her hands balling up into fists. "You killed him?"

"No idea," Yuffie said with a frown. "I left right afterwards – but, by the time I came back, Chekov and the Omni Gods were gone –"

"So, there still alive," Shelke summed up, a glint in her eye. "Very well, tell Reeve I'm going on _vacation_. I've got some stuff to look after."

Yuffie blinked, Shelke's words catching up to her as the brunette turned on her heel, heading for the doors. "Wait – what are you planning, Shelke?"

"Nothing," the brunette said with a shrug. "It's none of your business, or the WRO's, you are not to get involved."

With that, Shelke left the Pagoda, slamming the doors shut behind her. Yuffie sighed, leaning back against the banister, rolling her eyes. Shelke . . . she would always be a mystery.

That was the last time anyone had heard from Shelke. Someone in Costa del Sol had picked up her cell phone, the number disconnected a week later. No one knew where Shelke had disappeared too; the search parties had turned up empty handed. Everyone had shrugged it off; Shelke was Shelke, she would reappear when she wanted too.

Sitting in the Pagoda, listening to _another_ meeting with her council, she couldn't help but drift off. Idly, she wondered if she should have appointed someone else as Wutai's Ruler – being the _Queen_ was way too complicated. She didn't have nearly as much free time as she used too and it seemed she was only able to return to the WRO with her _entourage_, which was mostly only for treaties and other boring necessities that required signatures. She was also unable to take WRO missions, being a too important figure to go on some secret, underground mission.

Should Wutai loose their Queen and only heir to the throne . . .

She didn't get to see her friends often, communicating with them through email or through phone calls – which she had really bad reception to start with. She didn't get to see Tifa, nor the ring Cloud had gotten her, which was a sore spot for her. She didn't get to see Barrett's reaction to Marlene's reason to her sneaky getaway to Wutai _and_ she didn't get to see Vincent anymore – and he _never_ answered his cell phone anyway.

That was when she decided it. After the meeting, she was going to disappear into the night. There was no way Wutai was going to rule her life, she could watch over Wutai from afar; she didn't need to sit there day in and out. Talk about boring.

Yes, Wutai needed to join with the rest of Gaea; the monarchy was over, Queens and Kings were things of the past.

She was going to enjoy her life – and that wasn't sitting in the Pagoda, passing laws watching life happen outside her window.

That just _wasn't_ something Yuffie Kisaragi did.

---

A/N: Yes, I know it took 3.5 months to update this. I became very uninspired with this story; the plot did a total 180 from my original idea. I'll have to write that story later then. I think its better then this one - just cause I have a love/hate relationship with this story. Maybe I'll rewrite it again in the future.

Enjoy - it's been fun!


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